This article has been updated with line movement from FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, BetStars and PointsBet as of Wednesday morning.
What a weekend it was at Pebble Beach. Gary Woodland, who we discussed in last week’s US Open Betting Tips article, fought off Brooks Koepka to win his first major championship. While history wasn’t made — remember, Koepka had chance to become the first golfer to win three U.S. Opens in a row since Willie Anderson in 1905 — hopefully big online sports betting tickets were cashed. Woodland was +8000 at FanDuel Sportsbook last week, but some bettors were lucky enough to get him at over +10000 odds.
It’s crazy to think we’re already through three of four majors this year. Next is The Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club scheduled for July 18-21, which will likely be the next time we see Tiger Woods tee it up. Until then, we’ll have to settle for a quartet of tournaments as the Tour travels from New England to the midwest before golfers head to Northern Ireland in pursuit of the Claret Jug.
This week’s Travelers Championship is the opening act. Located in Cromwell, Conn., TPC River Highlands has hosted the Travelers Championship since 1984. It’s the only tournament to visit New Englanders this season. Lucky for fans, a handful of marquee golfers are making the West Coast-East Coast swing less than a week after competing on the Monterey Peninsula.
If you’re looking for PGA golf betting tips, we’ll explore all that and more, as we breakdown the course and the PGA odds for the 2019 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands.
The 2019 Travelers Championship Course – TPC River Highlands
The Par 70 course is one of the shortest tracks on Tour, measuring only 6,841 yards. Though Par 5s may be scarce, birdies will be plentiful. Last year, Bubba Watson won with a 17-under. If you didn’t reach double-digits under par, you didn’t finish inside the Top 15.
The layout consists of thin fairways and a plethora of bunkers — 119 to be exact — but don’t expect it to be a match for the talented field. Winners have gone 20-under par three times since 2000, including a 72-hole record -22 by Kenny Perry in 2009. In 2016, Jim Furyk shot the first-ever 58 on the PGA Tour in the final round of the Travelers Championship.
Past winners include bombers like Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson and shorter hitters like Russell Knox and Jordan Spieth.
The Travelers Championship Favorites
All lines posted below are taken from FanDuel Sportsbook unless otherwise specified. Use our FanDuel Sportsbook promo code to get a risk-free bet up to $500!
The strong field consists of favorites such as Brooks Koepka +750, Patrick Cantlay +1200, Jordan Spieth +1400, Francesco Molinari +1800, Paul Casey +1800, and Bubba Watson, Jason Day and Justin Thomas all tied at +2000 as of Monday afternoon.
A week after losing by 20 strokes to Rory McIlroy at the RBC Canadian Open, Koepka turned around and found himself in contention to win his second consecutive major — his fifth all-time — until the very last hole. He did it at a course that he couldn’t overpower. Like Pebble Beach, TPC Highlands is short. Unlike Pebble Peach, it’s not a major. Koepka has four major championships in nine attempts, but only has two wins in 109 non-major PGA Tour events. He has a Top 10 finish at the Travelers in 2016, but I’m saving my Koepka shares for the majors.
For the price, Casey +1800 and Watson +2000 are more intriguing bets than the studs up top. Watson hasn’t exactly been in the best form. The left hander missed the cut at Pebble Beach, finishing +8 in just two rounds. Before that, he was T63 at the RBC Canadian Open and missed the cut at the PGA Championship.
More so than most, Watson is one of those guys who loves playing golf at courses he loves and hates playing at courses he hates. TPC River Highlands is a course he loves. Watson isn’t just the defending champion, he’s a three-time former champion here. Oddsmakers are certainly taking his course history into account. With a win this weekend, Watson would join Billy Casper as the all-time leading winners at TPC River Highlands.
If it wasn’t for Watson, Casey might be a multiple
Line Movement/Best Price: Bubba Watson +3300 (opened +2800 at DraftKings Sportsbook
Paul Casey has fallen to as low as +1400 at DraftKings but you can still find +2000 at BetStars.
The Travelers Championship Mid-Tier Odds
Phil Mickelson returns to the Travelers Championship for the first time since 2003. Another left-hander, Mickelson went back-to-back in 2001-02. Mickelson is +5000 (DraftKings) after a long hiatus. Lefty made the cut at the U.S. Open, but his current form leaves a lot to be desired. Since winning the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, Mickelson has missed four of nine cuts.
Line Movement/Best Price: Phil Mickelson +6600 at BetStars
Chez Reavie +6600 (BetStars) comes off a great showing at the U.S. Open. Reavie had his best major performance ever, tieing for third with Justin Rose, Xander Schauffelle and fellow Arizona State Sun Devil Jon Rahm. Reavie has made five of six cuts at the Travelers and his best finish is a T11 in 2012. Reavie gained strokes tee-to-green and approach at Pebble, so it wasn’t as if he was riding a hot putter. This course should set up nicely for Reavie’s game and current form. This is one of my favorite bets on the board.
Viktor Hovland +6600 (BetStars) is one young golfer sure to gain steam as he makes his professional debut. Hovland caught plenty of eyes Sunday with an impressive T12 in his final event as an amateur. Before the U.S. Open, the 21-year-old from Norway shot three-under at the Master and made the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitation. He actually lost strokes putting at Pebble Beach, which makes his performance even more noteworthy.
Line Movement/Best Price: Hovland +8000 BetStars
The Travelers Championship Longshots
Matthew Wolff +12500 (BetStars), a year younger than Hovland, might not have a flashy U.S. Open performance under his belt like his Oklahoma State teammate, but he has eyes set on making plenty of noise on Tour. Wolff was No. 2 in the World Amateur Rankings (behind none other than Hovland), but he was recently crowned as the nation’s top Division 1 men’s golfer. This might not be the best track for Wolff to take advantage of with his distance off the tee. At the West Management Open, Wolff averaged over 330 yards with his driver and made the cut thanks to a first-round 67. Both Hovland and Wolff have the talent to win sooner than later.
Once the former No. 1 amateur in the world, Joaquin Niemann +15000 (DraftKings) turned professional in 2018. The twenty-year-old hasn’t let his inexperience stand in his way. Through the 2018 and 2019 season, Niemann has made an amazing 19 cuts in 24 tournaments, including five top-10 finishes. He experienced a bit of slump in 2019 after storming out the gates as a rookie, but he’s still making cuts and T27 at the Memorial. At the Canadian Open, Niemann gained strokes tee-to-green and finished T31 despite losing stokes with his putter.
Russell Henley +10000 (FanDuel) hasn’t done much lately. In fact, he’s missed three of his last four cuts. However, Henley showed signs of life at the Byron Nelson, gaining over four strokes on tee-to-green. If you’re betting on Henley this week, it’s purely because of his course history. Henley finished T6 in 2017 and T11 the year before.
Line Movement/Best Price: Russell Henley +11000 (DraftKings)
Once again, if you’re looking for general golf betting tips, please refer to our PGA golf betting guide.