2024 Travelers Championship Preview
After last week’s U.S Open, the big tournaments keep on coming and the majority of the best players on the PGA Tour will head to Connecticut for the Travelers Championship.
The Travelers Championship is the last of the PGA Tour’s new signature events and another huge prize pool will be up for grabs.
With players trying to play their way into form ahead of the FedEx Playoffs and the last major of the season, the British Open, another week of top golf awaits.
In this preview we will breakdown everything you need to know. We will take a look at the course and focus on what players will be hoping to end the week in glory.
The Course
The Travelers Championship has been held at TPC River Highlands since 1984 and it’s fair to say that by modern standards it is one of the easier tests that the best players on the PGA Tour can expect to play.
With low scoring expected, the course measures under 7,000 yards and there should be plenty of opportunities to shoot low on the course’s two par 5’s, 12 par 4’s and four par 3’s.
Water is a feature on the closing holes but the course’s only real defence is the rough that will align either side of the fairway. Keeping the ball on the fairways will be key, if a player can drive the ball well, plenty of birdie and eagle opportunities should follow.
The Favourites
As is the norm when he tees it up, Scottie Scheffler is the overwhelming favourite for victory. Arguably for the first time this season, Scheffler will head into the Travelers with something to prove following a reasonably poor showing at last week’s U.S Open.
Making the cut on the number, Scheffler would go onto finish well down the field in 47th place and it would be his first finish outside the top ten in eleven starts.
With five titles already in the bag this season, Scheffler won’t be panicked by his poor showing last week and you can be assured that he will be looking to cement his class over the next few days.
The course is designed to reward good approach play and nobody does that better than Scheffler. Whereas last week’s set up did him and his game no favours, the set up this week should be right in his wheelhouse. A big week should be expected.
With Rory McIlroy skipping this week due to his heartbreak at last week’s U.S Open it is Xander Schauffele who will tee off as the second favourite for victory.
Whatever happens for the rest of the season, it’s been a superb year for the Californian who finally was able to land his first major at the PGA Championship.
Having just teed it up twice since that breakthrough, Schauffele has picked up where he left off, finishing in the top ten at the Memorial and at last week’s U.S Open.
Like Scheffler, where Schauffele has excelled this year is with his approach play and like the world number one, he should have plenty of opportunities to shoot low across all four rounds.
With Schauffele getting the major monkey off his back, you can be assured that he will be looking for even more success so that he can cement himself as one of the very best players in the game. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him have another big week and add another title to the title he won here back in 2022.
Rounding out the top three in the pre-tournament betting is Collin Morikawa.
For the first time this season Morikawa didn’t feature in the top five of a major following high finishes at both the Masters and PGA Championships.
Since his win at the 2023 Zozo Championships, Morikawa has been in scintillating form but hasn’t quite been able to get the job done.
Excelling with both his driving and approach play, Morikawa has been one of the most consistent players on Tour this year and you feel his time to land one of these signature events is close.
Like Scheffler and Schauffele there shouldn’t be anything for Morikawa to fear about the setup of TPC River Highlands and this could finally be the week where it all comes together.
Value Picks
As always with events like the Travelers Championship, there are plenty of players who could spring a surprise at a decent price. Here are a few players to keep an eye on this week.
Keegan Bradley has a formidable record around TPC River Highland and is back this year to defend the title he won last year.
When on his game he is deadly with his accuracy, but for most of this year, Bradley has been disappointing. Although he has finished as the runner up in both the Sony Open and Charles Schwab Challenge, those have been the only top five finishes that he has achieved this season.
Littered by inconsistencies, Bradley will hope that a return to a course he favours will see him return back to the winners circle.
Sahith Theegala has been steadily climbing the world rankings and like Bradley, Theegala has enjoyed success around TPC River Highlands, finishing as the runner up here back in 2022.
Now ranked 14 in the world, he almost landed a signature event when finishing second at the RBC Heritage. With two top twenty finishes in his last four starts, Theegala has been playing some good golf and he has shown on many occasions that he is one of the most talented players on Tour.
When on his game, Theegala can be an absolutely birdie machine and if he can get the putter hot, he could make a mockery of his current price.
Quoted at prices of 66/1, Wyndham Clark is tough to ignore. Last year’s U.S Open winner, Clark has received a boost this week as he was chosen to represent Team USA at the upcoming Olympic Games.
Last year’s US Open victor, Clark is still ranked five in the world and has already landed one of these tournaments when emerging victorious at the AT&T at Pebble Beach.
The reason why Clark is priced so highly is due to his recent form. Having missed the cut at the PGA Championship and Memorial Tournament, he finished well down the field at last week’s US Open and is currently struggling for form.
Whilst he doesn’t look like he can turn this around anytime soon, a man of his talents can’t be ignored when priced so generously.
Long Shots
It’s hard to look beyond the chances of the leading trio in the betting, but if you like betting the odds, here are two players that have an outside chance of victory at huge prices.
At various points last week Thomas Detry looked on course for his best ever finish at a major. Finding himself in front at various stages, he would eventually succumb to the pressure of Pinehurst and would have to settle for a finish inside the top 15.
Detry has been remarkably consistent this year and has posted three top ten efforts so far this year. A hugely talented player and brilliant putter, Detry hasn’t quite been able to string four decent rounds together and tends to play in fit and starts.
Hoping for another great week, he could have a chance of being near the top of the leaderboard once more.
After his showing last week, it seems bizarre that Matthieu Pavon is currently quoted at a triple figure price at the majority of betting sites.
Now at a career high of 20 in the world, Pavon has won on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour in the last twelve months and knows how to get the job done.
The Frenchman had to battle hard last week to finish fifth at Pinehurst but that experience should stand him in good stead here.
Hitting the ball beautifully, Pavon could be a dangerous proposition for the rest of the field and his triple figure price represents some truly brilliant value.
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
