At the 121st U.S. Open this past weekend, we saw Jon Rahm, who was the betting favorite heading into the event, capture the first major title of his career at the South Course of Torrey Pines. Now, the PGA TOUR will travel across the country to Cromwell, Connecticut, for the 2021 Travelers Championship, which is held at TPC River Highlands (par 70, 6,841 yards). This short par 70 that was designed by the late Pete Dye has been the home of the Travelers since 1984.
After needing distance to climb the leaderboard at the South Course last week, your OTT game is rather irrelevant at the Travelers. TPC River Highlands presents very easy fairways to hit and the venue is so short overall that any length of player can claim a win here. Over the last decade, we have seen bombers like Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson win this tournament, along with short players like Kevin Streelman, Russell Knox and Chez Reavie also claiming victories in Cromwell. However, you must be an elite iron player to contend at this PGA TOUR stop. Over the last five years, four of the golfers to walk away with the big check at the Travelers have finished the week inside the top-seven in SG APP.
As a par 70, TPC River Highlands is home to 12 par fours, eight of which land between 400-450 yards. In his win here a year ago, Johnson led his field in SG on the par fours, and remarkably, he was the seventh consecutive Travelers champ to accomplish this feat, putting a huge emphasis on par four scoring this week.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning that four years ago, the Bentgrass greens here in Cromwell were converted to a combination of Bentgrass and POA. Usually the surrounding tournaments of majors deliver lackluster fields, but 10 of the top-25 ranked players in the world will be teeing it up in Connecticut this week. It should be a very interesting event, and below I give you my three favorite bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for the Travelers Championship.
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Paul Casey to win +1800
As a ball striker, Casey is on another level right now, and if he can somehow find any life with his putter, he could run away with this event. In Casey’s last two starts, he has finished T4 at the PGA Championship and then T7 at the U.S. Open, producing over 10 strokes T2G at each major. Nobody in the field this week has gained more strokes T2G or stuck more greens than Casey across his last 12 rounds, but during this time, the 43-year-old also ranks 126th in SGP.
However, there is hope that his flat stick could see some positive regression at TPC River Highlands. In six starts at this Dye design, Casey has generated positive strokes on the greens four times. He has four top-five finishes here in Cromwell and these +1800 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook are far too long for Casey right now.
Kevin Streelman Top 10 +300
Streelman boasts an illustrious resume here in Cromwell. He won the Travelers back in 2014 and was the runner-up to Johnson last year. Overall, Streelman owns five top-fives at TPC River Highlands and is 10/13 in made cuts at this course. He now returns to this par 70 in outstanding form, finishing no worse than T26th in his past five starts, including a T8 at the PGA Championship and a T15 at the U.S. Open last week. Over his last 24 rounds, Streelman’s ball striking has been tremendous, ranking 7th in SGT2G and 8th in SG APP, and he also ranks 17th in SG on par fours during this stretch.
Another top-10 in Connecticut feels likely for Streelman this week, and I love backing him at this price.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1M Pitch + Putt [$250K to 1st]
Guido Migliozzi Top 10 +1100
In his PGA TOUR and major championship debut last week at the U.S. Open, Migliozzi had an incredible showing. He ranked 6th in SGT2G and 10th in SG APP at the South Course, lifting him to a T4 finish in the world-class field. Prior to this, the 24-year-old out of Italy carded back-to-back runner up finishes overseas, at the Betfred British Masters and then at the Made in HimmerLand. These past three impressive starts have moved Migliozzi up a whopping 74 spots in the world golf rankings.
Now, the blossoming talent heads to TPC River Highlands to face a far easier test of golf than what he conquered last week at the U.S. Open. Obviously, Migliozzi comes with risks, but this is a ridiculous number for his current form at a track that suits his game.
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