Travelers Championship Prop Bets, Matchups & Finishing Position Picks
Jon Rahm became the first Spaniard to win the U.S. Open on his very first Father’s Day. One could not script a better finish to a story that began a few weeks ago. With golf, though, we are on to the next tournament. The Travelers Championship is afoot at its customary location — TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, CT. Check out some golf betting tips before reading our 2021 Travelers Championship Betting Picks article. As for this piece, we are focused on course fit at TPC River Highlands, plus props, matchups, and finishing positions. What are we waiting for? Let’s get started.
How to Bet TPC River Highlands
For a week following a major, the 2021 Travelers Championship boasts a pretty strong field. As of this writing, superstars such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Patrick Cantlay grace the field. Former winners, Bubba Watson (3 times), Stewart Cink, Chez Reavie, and Kevin Streelman will also tee it up.
If one could frame a course to be the complete opposite of last week’s USGA-designed Torrey Pines, TPC River Highlands would be a strong fit. Playing below 7,000 yards, this Pete Dye design generates birdiefests. Unlike the offerings at the US Open, low scoring will be on display and the course will fit whichever golfers get hot. Fairways are wide and the greens are bentgrass with a bit of poa mixed in. Doglegs will be plentiful on this par 70, with seven par 4s from 400-450 yards.
I will be keying in on the usual statistics — SG: Approach, SG: OTT, SG: Putting. I will likely weight SG: Approach higher than usual because this is a second-shot golf course favoring golfers who can give themselves plenty of makeable birdie putts. I will add in Par-4 400-450 as well as Proximity from the 150-175 yard range. Finally, I am not going to factor SG: ARG all that much. If they aren’t hitting greens, this week’s players will struggle to keep up with scoring.
Travelers Championship Prop Bets
Abraham Ancer Top Rest of the World Player +750 (FanDuel)
If I was able to build a Travelers Championship machine and spit out the type of golfer who should play well at TPC River Highlands, Abraham Ancer would spit out. He’d probably be walking out of the machine but that notwithstanding, Ancer continues to play exceptionally well. We knew that Torrey Pines would be a challenge given the length, so a missed cut is not that terrible. Prior to the missed cut, Ancer put together a string of nine consecutive T30 performances with T10s at Valspar, Wells Fargo, and the PGA Championship. He leads the field in SG: Approach on Pete Dye design over his last 36 rounds and excels on shorter courses.
I will likely be heavily invested in Abe this week across betting and DFS. My favorite bet of the week is to bet Ancer to finish best amongst “the rest of the world” category on most betting sites’ Nationality Groupings. Joining this group with Ancer are the Australian and South African players as well as Emiliano Grillo and Joaquin Niemann. My hopes for Abe are very high this week but wouldn’t mind settling on him defeating players from this group for +750 odds. At the time of this writing, FanDuel offers the best price.
Risking 1/2 unit to win 3.75
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Paul Casey to beat Dustin Johnson +102 (FanDuel)
Two lines of thinking go into this 1-unit bet. The first line of thinking is that Paul Casey has a wonderful history at TPC River Highlands — including two runner-up finishes. He is in great form and checks all of the requisite boxes for this course. The second line of thinking is… why the heck is Dustin Johnson in this field?
Obviously, winning this tournament when it was one of the first to play after last year’s restart might mean he feels obligated to return. Yet, DJ played the Palmetto in South Carolina the week before making the weekend at the US Open. Now, he is going to fly across the country to play another four rounds in Connecticut? In recent years, Johnson has not played this event. I suspect if things do not go well early, DJ is going home. I think Casey should be in contention for a great Sunday run and clearly loves this course. While Dustin showed he can win this event last year, I am not so convinced he is going to be fully invested this week. I’ll take Casey for a unit.
Risking 1 unit to win 1.02
Emiliano Grillo Top 20 +300 (BetMGM)
Emiliano Grillo is up next for a T20-bet at BetMGM. I love betting these finishing positions at BetMGM Sportsbook whenever possible because, unlike most sites, they will pay out ties. Grillo ranks 4th in the field in SG: Approach, and top five in both P4: 400-450 and Proximity: 150-175. In short, Grillo’s game fits this course.
While Grillo is the worst cut sweat when he does make the cut T20 finishes seem to abound. After missing the cut at the Players, Grillo has four T20 finishes — most notably a runner-up finish at the RBC Heritage. Of course, there are two additional missed cuts since the Players but that is what you get when you print a ticket on Emiliano. He should be in contention on Sunday if he can hole some birdies and should pay this T20 ticket.
Risking 1 unit to win 3
Kevin Streelman Top 10 +360 (FanDuel)
Speaking of top finishes, Kevin Streelman brings a strong Travelers resume with him to complement his recent excellent form. Streelman has four consecutive T20 finishes and continues to play really well and find himself in contention on Sunday.
Putting is always the question. I admit I am a bit concerned that his success recently seems to be linked to his putting. Not the best putter in the field (92nd in SG: Putting), Streelman will make do with his excellent approach game (19th). He ranks fifth in the field in opportunities gained. Despite a stacked field last year, Streelman added a 2nd place finish to his already impressive Travelers resume. Given his recent form, a T10 seems squarely in play.
Risking 1 unit to win 3.6
Good luck with your golf bets this week. Come back for more props as we prep for The Open Championship in a few weeks.
Image Credit: Imagn