2021 Travelers Championship PGA Golf Betting Picks & Odds
Looking for 2021 Travelers Championship golf picks other PGA betting tips? Here’s an in-depth preview of this week’s tournament, field, and course, with odds, best bets, and more!
Jon Rahm delivered a nice win for our U.S. Open betting picks. I’ll try to keep the ball rolling and the putts falling as we transition to the 2021 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. It’s not a major, but a few of the top golfers in the world are traveling from California to Connecticut as they vie for a portion of the $7.4 million prize pool, $1.33m of which will go to the winner.
Travelers Championship PGA Odds & Picks
Five of the top 10 golfers in the world are teeing off this week, including World No. 1 Dustin Johnson. Johnson sits atop the Offical World Golf Rankings, but it’s Bryson DeChambeau who sportsbooks make the favorite to win the Travelers Championship. DeChambeau opened +1100, while Johnson lurks closely behind at +1200.
Other golfers in the field are Patrick Cantlay (+1400), Paul Casey (+1600), Brooks Koepka (+1600), and Patrick Reed (+2000), Scottie Sheffler (+2200), and Tony Finau (+2500).
Golfer Preview
Bryson DeChambeau +1000 – DeChambeau was a co-leader as he made the turn on Sunday at the U.S. Open. What transpired on the back nine at Torrey Pines was arguably the worst nine holes of his professional career. He shot a 44 and finished +3 for the tournament, tied for 26th. Luckily he returns to a course where he’s had three consecutive top-10 finishes. I’ll likely start my PGA DFS lineup with DeChambeau, who I expect to bounce back. But unlike last week, I don’t plan to start my betting card with the short odds of this tournament favorite.
Dustin Johnson +1200 – Johnson didn’t have a stellar U.S. Open, but he’s in good enough form to defend his 2020 Travelers Championship title.
Patrick Cantlay +1400 – Cantlay made the cut but couldn’t find any birdies until Round 4. He scored a 2-under 70 on Sunday, which was one of the best rounds of the day. Even more impressive was the fact that he went 18 holes without a bogey.
Paul Casey +1600 – If you’re searching for a horse of the course, Casey is definitely part of the discussion. He “struggled” last year with a T32, but he had four top 5 finishes in his six previous starts at the Travelers Championship. Last week Casey made the cut on the number, and then followed up with one of the best weekends of the tournament. His 67 and 70 helped him finished T7.
Brooks Koepka +1600 – I hate betting on Koepka in non-majors. He’s the first to admit that he doesn’t care about these events, and there’s no evidence to the contrary if you look at his results. However, he may have some extra motivation with DeChambeau joining him in the field.
Tony Finau +2500 – At first glance, a Finau ticket at 25-1 sparked my interest more than the short odds of other favorites. Then I looked at his course history…Finau returns to Connecticut after missing back-to-back cuts at the Travelers Championship. He does have three top-25s, though, with this best finish being a T17 in 2017.
Course Breakdown — TPC River Highlands
- TPC River Highlands
- Par 70
- 6,841 Yards
- Greens: Poa annua
- Designer: Pete Dye
Unsurprisingly, TPC River Highlands will be quite different from Torrey Pines. At merely 6,843 yards, the Par 70 course plays nearly 1,000 yards shorter than the monster Rahm just defeated.
Though golfers will only encounter two Par 5s per round, we will see plenty of birdies and a winning score nearing 20-under par. 19-under won it last year, and -17 won in 2019 and 2018. With some of the big names in this field, we should expect things to play out similarly this weekend.
Travelers Championship Golf Betting Picks
It’s still early, 10am Monday morning to be exact, so I haven’t locked in any golf betting picks yet, but here are a few golfers I’m keeping my eye on as I wait for more sportsbooks like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and PointsBet to post their Travelers Championship odds.
Matthew Wolff +3300 – After a two-month hiatus from competitive golf, Wolff, only 22, came out firing at the U.S. Open. During his opening round, he had eight birdies and was in contention until a rough Sunday. His two appearances at River Highlands have been lackluster, so I’m not sure I want to bite on these odds. However, if we can find him priced somewhere closer to +5000 at, say, DraftKings Sportsbook or BetMGM, then I won’t hesitate to add him to my card.
Update: BetMGM Sportsbook opened Wolff +5000 at noon. Lock it in.
Keegan Bradley +6000 (Unibet) – Before 2020, Bradley had made eight consecutive cuts at the Travelers Championship. Like a few others below, Bradley didn’t qualify for last week’s U.S. Open, so he’s going a little underlooked. As I’ve written many times this year, Bradley is one of the best ball-strikers in golf. He has the driver and irons to win on Tour again. The question is, will his putter ever show up?
Garrick Higgo +7000 (DK) – We’re getting nearly the same odds on Higgo here as we were last week. The difference, however, is the field and course are not nearly as difficult. Higgo didn’t make the cut in San Diego, but he was putting the ball close enough to record eight birdies during his 36 holes. Unfortunately, 12 bogeys and a double-bogey set him back at Torrey. I expect Higgo to find plenty of birdie opportunities again this week, which should make him a contender at 66-1 odds.
Bubba Watson +6600 (Unibet) – Watson missed the cut in 2020, but there’s no doubt he loves this course. He’s won here three times and has finished in the top 25 more often than not. Watson also played tremendous golf last Thursday and Friday. He eventually stumbled during the weekend, but it’s safe to say he enters in decent form.
Rickie Fowler +6600 (BetMGM) – Fowler failed to qualify for the U.S. Open, but that should leave him fresh and ready for the Travelers Championship. He’s struggled with his game over the last couple of seasons, but there’s reason for Fowler to be optimistic heading into the Travelers Championship. For one, his swing appears to be trending in the direction. He gained strokes on his approach shots in both the PGA Championship and The Memorial, finishing T8 and T11. Tha’s good enough for me. I want to bet on Fowler while his name is still at the bottom of the betting board, before he gets another top-10 and the market catches on.
Stewart Cink +10000 (BetMGM) – Ok, I’m excited about this pick and ready to lock it in at this price, although we might get better odds if we’re patient. We hit on Cink as a 150-1 winner earlier this year, making the 48-year-old one of two two-time winners on Tour this season (the other being DeChambeau). As for his history at the Travelers Championship, it’s not too shabby either. He has a pair of Travelers Championship wins, not to mention a runner-up here in 2018. He missed the cut in 2020 while losing nearly four strokes with his putter. All things considered, Cink makes viable longshot for both betting and DFS purposes.
Travelers Championship Golf Betting Card
- Matthew Wolff +5000 (1 unit)
- Garrick Higgo +7000 (1 unit)
- Rickie Fowler +6600 (1 unit)
- Stewart Cink +10000 (1/2 unit)
Image Credit: Imagn