2023 Travelers Championship Golf Betting Tips: TPC River Highlands Course Preview

by Joe Cistaro (joeycis) Last Updated 2024-06-18 12:55:33

This week, Joe Cistaro breaks down golf betting tips for the 2023 Travelers Championship. Use the PrizePicks promo code GRINDERS to claim a $100 deposit bonus on U.S. Open DFS Pick’em entries this week!.

After Wyndham Clark broke through for his first major championship at Los Angeles Country Club, the PGA Tour decided to elevate the Travelers Championship instead of downshifting. So, we will see the world’s best again sans the LIV Tour at TPC River Highlands. A sure-fire softer test for tour professionals, we should be offered a pile of birdies this weekend. Let’s start with this week’s betting odds and review the course.

2023 Travelers Championship at BetMGM Sportsbook

At the time of this writing – June 19th – you can find these odds at BetMGM Sportsbook. The below list features all golfers priced at 50/1 or better.

Here are the recent winners of The Travelers Championship:

• 2022 – Xander Schauffele (-19)
• 2021 – Harris English (-13)
• 2020 – Dustin Johnson (-20)
• 2019 – Bubba Watson (-17)
• 2017 – Jordan Spieth (-12)
• 2016 – Russell Knox (-14)

Rinse and repeat from last week without the LIV Tour. Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson boast four collective wins at the event over the years. Normally, the Travelers does not attract the greatest field in golf. For that reason, a deep dive into this course is a must to check in with recent form and course fit for the players in the field.

There will be 156 players in the field with the top 65 and ties playing on Saturday and Sunday.

2023 Travelers Championship Betting Preview

• Course: TPC River Highlands
• Date: June 22-25
• Par: 70
• Yardage: 6,841
• Greens: Bentgrass (Poa mix)

TPC River Highlands is a Pete Dye design located in Cromwell, Connecticut. Formerly the Hartford Open and the Buick Open, Travelers has sponsored the event since 2007.

The course is one of the shortest courses on the tour schedule, resting at just a touch above 6,800 yards. There are eight Par 4s between 400 and 450 yards as well as two below 400. The Par 4 14th — sitting at roughly 296 yards — is very drivable and will feature several groups being waved up to tee off while players look at capitalizing with birdie putts.

The short Par 4 along with the two Par 5s on the course have birdie rates north of 30% and present the greatest scoring opportunities for players. Duh. With that said, the slight size of the course keeps any player in the running. Dustin Johnson and Brendon Todd played in a final group years ago. Bubba Watson has won this event three times but so has Chez Reavie. Length is not significant in this course, but neither are fairways. Players that hit it a long way will be able to play wedges from the rough.

As for what is significant, approach and putting are the primary skills we should focus on. This course should produce a birdiefest, so we will target guys in good form with their irons who can dial in a hot putter. Immediately my mind goes to Denny McCarthy, who is not one of the longest players on tour but has displayed repeatedly a penchant for catching fire on the greens.

Oddly, the key proximity range that winners and top ten finishers have excelled with on this course is 150-175 yards. I suppose it could be because of two of the Par 3s. The par 3s should be far more accessible than what players dealt with last weekend at LA Country Club.

We will focus on approach, OTT, putting, opportunities gained, and BOB%. We will sprinkle in that proximity range and maybe the slightest, slightest, every so slight pinch of ARG play. That said, if we are modeling for an outright winner, ARG play is far less important given the number of birdies we will see this weekend.

Who are we looking to this weekend? Let’s preview a few golfers.

Editor’s Note: Don’t live in a state with legal golf betting? Check out our Underdog promo code, one of the top DFS apps for fantasy golf pick’em.

Golfers To Watch This Week

Unless mentioned otherwise, all strokes gained statistics will be referenced over the player’s previous 36 rounds on the PGA Tour.

Viktor Hovland +1600

There is no doubt: Vik let us down last week. With that double ticket in play, we were hoping for big things from the young ball-striking machine. Instead, Hovland sat in neutral throughout the entire tournament.

Uncharacteristically, Hovland lost strokes on approach last weekend. I am not sure if that is course-related or just a bad week. I will treat this as a blip and think Hovland is in serious consideration given his penchant for dialing in pretty much every club in his bag. The U.S. Open marked a second consecutive tournament where Vik gained on the greens and around them.

As mentioned in our previous betting preview, if he can put everything together, Hovland is poised for several victories. While the Travelers Championship does not pose the same type of challenge, the field is still strong, and there is still plenty of money on the line. We will consider him for all formats.

Rickie Fowler +3300

Fowler locked up another T10 finish as he played in the final group alongside the eventual champion, Wyndham Clark. Rickie played beautifully all week — gaining strokes on the field in every major category. Unfortunately, he just didn’t have his best stuff on Sunday.

The win for Rickie feels inevitable. At a course where approach and putting are of great import, Fowler feels even more palatable when the length isn’t as important. Fowler did not play well in his last couple of outings in Connecticut, but he wasn’t playing well anywhere at that point. He has a couple of T20 finishes back during peak Rickie time. Are we in peak Rickie time?

I might find out this weekend on my outright card.

Justin Thomas +5000

Hear me out. Don’t close the browser. Please.

Justin Thomas can’t be this broken. Can he? I mean… he really looks broken. However, now you are giving me JT at a course where approach is the most important statistic. He is 50/1… again. I will agree. He should be 50/1.

That doesn’t mean this number won’t catch my money. We don’t pay a high price anymore to include him and we know the upside. Until I get a report about an injury, Thomas is getting the bet-forever treatment.

Denny McCarthy +8000

This might be my favorite betting option of the week. A course where length isn’t that important and where putting is significant? McCarthy leads the field in putting over his last 36 rounds and sits 8th in Par 4: 450-500. Assuming he creates opportunities, we are talking about a man who can cash them in.

The close call at Memorial must be stuck in Denny’s brain at this rate. He made the cut at the U.S. Open but didn’t really factor into the conversation. This type of course suits him. Large greens where he can take advantage of what he does best — roll the rock.

Denny will be on my card and will be a ladder consideration.

Follow me on Twitter at @JoeCistaro to follow along with any additions, matchups, or top finishers I add to my outright betting card. Good luck with all of your wagers this week and thanks for reading.

Image Credit: Getty Images