The Travelers Championship tees off this week at TPC River Highlands.
This is a look at the best first-round leader bets to make for the event on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Travelers Championship: First Round Leader Picks
The Travelers Championship is being played at TPC River Highlands, and it is the final Signature Event of the season. TPC River Highlands is a par 70 golf course and ranges 6,844 yards. It is one of the shortest courses on the PGA TOUR schedule, presenting an opportunity for players to go low if they can conquer the bentgrass and poa annua blend greens. It will be a loaded field at the Travelers Championship, following last week’s U.S. Open. Normally, the week after a major can be a quiet one on the PGA TOUR. However, as this is the final Signature Event on the calendar, it is the last chance for players to capitalize on the increased prize money and FedEx Cup points. U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun will be in the field, along with defending champion, and World No. 1, Scottie Scheffler. The field also features other top players in Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg and Justin Thomas.
Scottie Scheffler FRL (+1100)
Scottie Scheffler is the heavy favorite to win this week’s Travelers Championship. Not only is Scheffler comfortably the best player in the world at the moment, but this is the perfect course for his game. He demonstrated that clearly at last year’s Travelers Championship, taking down Tom Kim in a playoff to win. Scheffler cruised through the tournament, shooting 65 or lower in all four rounds. This course presents opportunities to make a lot of birdies, and nobody in the world can take advantage of a course of that style quite like Scottie Scheffler. Scheffler leads the PGA TOUR in scoring average, strokes gained total, strokes gained approach to green and in proximity.
Scheffler’s game is a full level above everyone else at the moment. Rory McIlroy ranks second in strokes gained total at +1.554, just ahead of Sepp Straka, who is at 1.497. Scheffler ranks first in strokes gained total at 2.699. His ball striking is incredible, which is why he ranks first in proximity. On a course where conditions will be attackable, nothing is stopping Scheffler from putting all of his iron shots within a make-able putting distance. I rarely bet on a favorite in a golf tournament, but this seems like a week where Scheffler could shoot 62 on Thursday and just never look back. So, I am backing him to be the first-round leader.
Sam Burns FRL (+3000)
Outside of Scheffler, Sam Burns is a name that stands out further down the odds board. Burns had a disappointing end to his U.S. Open, but was the leader after 54 holes and played great most of the week — at least compared to the rest of the field. It has been a great run of form for Burns, finishing in the top 20 at six of his past seven events, including a runner-up finish at the RBC Canadian Open and a seventh-place finish at the U.S. Open the past two weeks. By far the weakest part of Burns’ game is off the tee. In fact, he ranks 100th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee. However, at TPC River Highlands, driving distance is not a major factor. Of course, it always helps to hit the ball further, but this is not a “bomber’s course” by any means. Burns ranks first on Tour in strokes gained putting. If he can just get himself in decent positions off the tee, he should have a lot of make-able putts, and more often than not, he will sink those. He has a great chance to compete in this tournament and lead after the first round if his putter stays hot.
