PGA Travelers Championship Golf Odds and Betting Picks

Usually the week after a major championship, the field is fairly weak at the following PGA Tour event. That’s not the case this week, however, as the five of the world’s Top 15 players head to the Hartford area for the Travelers Championship. Check out Sports Interaction’s PGA golf odds.

First off, let’s recap the 117^th U.S. Open at Erin Hills last week. The links-style course in Wisconsin played quite easy with its huge fairways and little wind to act as a line of defense. American Brooks Koepka won at 16 under par, tying the U.S. Open record for lowest under par with Rory McIlroy in 2011. It was the first major championship win for Koepka, who isn’t playing this week, and the seventh straight first-time major winner.

What was stunning last week was how many big-name players missed the cut: Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Jon Rahm, Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott and Justin Rose to name a few. Day was my pick to win but was 10 over in his two rounds. At the time, Johnson, McIlroy and Day were top three players in the world rankings, and it marked the first time the world’s top three missed the cut in a major since the world rankings were established in 1986.

Koepka’s win jumped him to No. 10 in the world rankings and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama was a co-runner-up and is now No. 2 in the world.

While the U.S. Open isn’t supposed to be a birdie-fest, that’s likely going to be the case at the 6,841-yard, par-70 TPC River Highlands outside Hartford for the Travelers Championship. Need proof? Last year, American Jim Furyk set a PGA Tour record by shooting a 58 in the final round and he didn’t even win. Furyk finished tied for fifth at 10 under.

The winner was Russell Knox at 14 under. The worst winning score at this tournament since 2007 when it was renamed the Travelers Championship is 12 under. Knox (+8100) is one of seven former champions in the field. The only player to repeat here is Phil Mickelson in 2001 & ’02. Lefty isn’t playing.

Travelers Championship Golf Betting Odds

Normally you wouldn’t see guys like McIlroy, Day and Justin Spieth play the week after a major, but they are in the field. Spieth (+900) plays here for the first time; he finished T35 last week but had his best round on Sunday with a 69.

McIlroy (+1000) looked rusty at Erin Hills after missing a few weeks after reaggravating a rib injury suffered back in January. He shot rounds of 78-71. He plays here for the first time. Day (+1100) does for the first since 2014 when he was 18^th.

Justin Thomas (+1400) and Paul Casey (+2200) round out the favourites. Thomas tied a U.S. Open record with a 63 in the third round and would finish T9 at 8 under. Thomas was third here last year. Casey was a runner-up in 2015 and 17^th last year.

Canadian Golfers

Graham DeLaet (+4800) didn’t qualify for the U.S. Open and was last 10^th at the Memorial at the start of the month. He was fourth in this tournament in 2015 and third in 2013 so he likes odd-numbered years. Adam Hadwin (+7400) dropped from 49^th in the world rankings to 53^rd following his T60 last week. Hadwin got progressively worse as the U.S. Open progressed, shooting 68-74-75-80.

Nick Taylor (+11800) also last played at the Memorial and was 49^th. He finished 64^th at last year’s Travelers. David Hearn (+1400) teed it up the week before the Open at the St. Jude Classic and was 10^th. He was 38^th in 2011 in Hartford. Mackenzie Hughes (+23200) was 45^th at the Memorial and last played this event in 2009 (63^rd).

No Canadian has won the Travelers. Dave Barr lost in a three-way playoff in 1989 to Mark Brooks.

Travelers Championship Predictions

Roll the dice on DeLaet for a Top 10. Ditto Bubba Watson and Aussie Marc Leishman, who are both former champions at this tournament. It’s always a bit risky to bet on Watson to win (+3400) because he can be so inconsistent, but he has two victories and two other top-five finishes here this decade.