2023 Travelers Championship: PGA Tour Betting Odds
Scottie Scheffler favoured on the golf odds.
Under normal circumstances, this week’s field would really be watered down because it’s played the week after the gruelling U.S. Open and guys have to then travel across the country. However, Connecticut’s biggest sporting event got a huge boost when given designated “elevated” status, making it one of the PGA Tour’s 17 high money events in 2023 with a $20 million purse.
Thus, it’s the best field in years at the Travelers with the top eight in the world rankings committed – Japan’s biggest star golfer, former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, for example, is playing for the first time. Of course, no LIV golfers, though. Bubba Watson is one of those and won this tournament three times. Dustin Johnson is another, and he won in 2020.
“I’ve not seen the tournament this big, as far the scope of it goes,” said Tournament Director Nathan Grube.
The TPC River Highlands in officially in Cromwell, Conn., and is a short par 70 at about 6,850 yards. It’s the 40th year hosting. The signature stretch is holes 15-17, which plays around a lake. It’s going to take at least 10 under par to win if history any indication and maybe at least 15 under.
The PGA Tour record score of 58 was shot here by Jim Furyk in the final round of the 2016 Travelers Championship, but Russell Knox won that year. It’s the last time a player from outside the USA was the champion. In 2021, Harris English won in an eight-man playoff, the second-longest in Tour history.
The defending champion is Xander Schauffele. He shot 19-under 261 last year to beat out JT Poston and Sahith Theegala by two. Schauffele, who led by a shot entering the final round, won thanks to three-stroke swing on the final hole as he birdied the hole. Theegala took two shots to get out of a bunker and made a double-bogey in the group ahead. It was Schauffele’s first-ever win after having a 54-hole lead.
Each champion of the Travelers since 2016 teed it up at the U.S. Open the week prior.
Travelers Championship Golf Odds
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the +631 favourite, and he comes off a third-place finish on Sunday at the U.S. Open. Scheffler hasn’t finished outside the Top 10 of an event since the week after the Masters when he was T11. His best result here is 13th last year.
Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy are both +1000. McIlroy finished runner-up at the U.S. Open on Sunday by a shot to first-time major champion Wyndham Clark (+3400 this week). Rory was 19th here last year. Rahm was T10 on Sunday and has yet to contend in a few trips to this tournament. Patrick Cantlay is +1200 with defending champion Xander Schauffele +1300 and Viktor Hovland +1800.
Cantlay was T14 at the U.S. Open and has been no worse than 15th here in the past five years. I liked Cantlay last year at +1500 and he was right there entering Sunday but shot a 76 and finished T13. Schauffele comes off a T10 at the U.S. Open. The only repeat winner of this tournament was Phil Mickelson in 2002. Hovland has a best finish here of 11th.
No Canadian has won this event. Dave Barr was a co-runner-up in 1988 when he and Joey Sindelar lost in a playoff to Mark Brooks. Mackenzie Hughes and Adam Svensson were the top Canadians last year at T25, followed by Michael Gligic at T40 and Ben Silverman at T46. Roger Sloan missed the cut. Corey Conners is +4900 this week with Hughes +12400, Svensson +17200 and Taylor Pendrith +23000.
Travelers Championship Golf Predictions
Like Brian Harman at +8700 to win. He’s averaging a score of 67.73 over his past 22 rounds at this event and has several Top 10s here but yet to win.