The Travelers Championship will be played at TPC River Highlands (par 70, 6,385 yards, bentgrass/POA annua greens) in Cromwell, Connecticut this week, which is the eighth and final Signature Event of the season. There will be 72 golfers teeing up and no cut this week.
Below, I have featured some head-to-head tournament matchup bets to consider for the Travelers Championship.
Russell Henley over Shane Lowry (-135)
While both of these players have had great seasons, Henley has been more consistent and contended more often than Lowry. Henley has made 11-of-13 cuts with four top-10 finishes – including a win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational – while Lowry has made 10-of-15 cuts with four top-10 finishes. Just last week at Oakmont Country Club for the U.S. Open, Henley was in the mix with a T10 finish, while Lowry struggled mightily and missed the cut by a whopping 10 strokes.
These two players now head to TPC River Highlands, which is a course Henley owns a better resume at than Lowry. At this par 70, Henley has made 6-of-7 cuts with four top-20 finishes, whereas Lowry has made 3-of-4 cuts two top-20 finishes.
Henley’s +4000 odds to win the Travelers Championship on DraftKings Sportsbook are shorter than Lowry at +4500, and siding with Henley to win this matchup vs. Lowry is an easy choice this week.
Akshay Bhatia over Sungjae Im (+100)
Im’s recent form has been extremely concerning and backing Bhatia to win this matchup makes a ton of sense at this plus money price. Being in strong form with your irons will be essential for success at TPC River Highlands this week, as this venue is a true second-shot course, where four of the last five winners have finished the event top-six in SG APP. In this department, Bhatia has a clear edge over Im. The latter has notably lost strokes on approach at 11 straight events and Im ranks 174th of 176 golfers In SG APP this season. Bhatia on the other hand ranks 25th in SGP APP.
When we take a deeper dive into approach play at TPC River Highlands, 25% of approach shots over the last five years have come from 150-175 yards out and again, Bhatia has a huge advantage over Im in this category. This season, Bhatia ranks 24th in proximity to the hole on approach shots from 150-175 yards, while Im ranks 173rd of 176th eligible golfers.
Im finished T3rd at TPC River Highlands last season, but he was in far better form as a ball striker then and Bhatia wasn’t far behind Im that week, finishing T5th in his Travelers debut. Bhatia has produced two top-25 finishes in his last four starts entering this week, while Im only has carded one top-25 finish in his past four, and Bhatia is an excellent bet to outperform Im this week.
