Preview
Travelers Championship Event Info
Starts: 22nd June 2023
Course: TPC River Highlands
Par: 70
Length: 6,841 yards
2022 Champion: Xander Schauffele
Course Info
Designer: Dye redesign in the 1980s
Used Since: 1991
Fairways: Average/narrow width, Tree Lined
Greens: Small, Poa Annua
Water Hazards: On 5 holes
Par 5's: 6th and 13th
Premium on: Approach play
Significant Info
Expect low scoring - Jim Furyk recorded a 58 here in 2016.
Be aware that the greens used to be Bentgrass and ran quite slow, but an overhaul several years ago saw Poa Annua introduced with the greens now notably faster.
This is an elevated event for 2023, with a significantly deeper field than we are used to seeing in this event.
Weather
Thursday
Rain showers early afternoon with a max wind speed of 8mph.
Friday
Rain showers early afternoon with a max wind speed of 10mph.
Saturday
Thunderstorms possible with a max wind speed of 11mph.
Sunday
Thunderstorms possible with a max wind speed of 8mph.
Travelers Championship Trends
Winning Score
The winning score has ranged from -12 to -20 in the past 12 years.
Course Form
Ten of the last twelve champions had played this event prior to winning. Of the ten players who had played the course before, seven of those winners had recorded a top 15 finish in this event prior to winning.
Recent Form
Three of the past nine champions had missed the cut in their last start prior to winning here, so it is possible to find your game at TPC River Highlands. That said, the six other champions had recorded a top 35 in their previous start.
World Ranking
We generally see better players prevail in this event. Six of the past seven champions have ranked 26th or better when they teed off. Kevin Streelman (2014) was the last player to win from outside of the world's top 50 (he was 58th).
Nationality
Americans have won nine of the last twelve events here.
Correlating Courses
None of note.
Travelers Championship Stats Analysis
SG: Off The Tee
The last seven winners have ranked 15-9-83-25-9-102-25.
Driving Accuracy
The last seven winners have ranked 9-17-87-9-138-72-47. In general, you don't need to be accurate off the tee but recent winners have been.
Driving Distance
The last seven winners have ranked 31-43-57-102-15-101-38.
SG: Approach
The last seven winners have ranked 5-32-7-1-29-9-5. Strong approach play is vital this week.
Greens In Regulation
The last seven winners have ranked 1-19-23-11-9-57-8. Hitting greens is valued at TPC River Highlands.
SG: Around The Green
The last seven winners have ranked 47-8-38-39-14-3-74 Players will miss greens this week, getting up and down is important.
SG: Putting
The last seven winners have ranked 4-18-6-13-31-41-28. For a course that regularly yields low scores, a hot putter surprisingly hasn't been all that important.
Travelers Championship In Play Advice
Tough Holes
The 4th and 5th holes generally play as the hardest holes on the course.
Birdie Holes
The par 5's (6th and 13th) play as the easiest holes. The short par 4s, the 2nd and 15th, generally offer birdie opportunities too.
Closing Stretch
According to Stewart Cink, holes 15-18 offer "four of the most exciting finishing holes in a group anywhere in the world". The 15th is a driveable par 4 but the 16th and 17th are much harder and par is a good score.
Fast or Slow Start
A fast start in round one isn't essential. Dustin Johnson was 79th in 2020 after the opening 18 holes and 2018 champion, Bubba Watson, wasn't much better in 77th.
Xander Schauffele led at the halfway stage but the two champions before him were 20th at the halfway stage. However, the four champions before them were all inside the top eight.
Five of the last seven Travelers champions have been in the final pairing on Sunday. Bubba Watson and Harris English won from 6th position after 54 holes in 2018 and 2021 respectively.
In-play
The Travelers Championship In-Play Blog
25th June 2023, 0:15am (UK time)
Player | Total |
Bradley |
-21 |
Reavie |
-20 |
Cantlay |
-16 |
Fowler |
-15 |
Scott |
-15 |
McCarthy |
-15 |
Five players tied |
-14 |
2023 Travelers Championship Round 3 Summary
Keegan Bradley birdied three of his last six holes to open up a one shot lead going into the final round at the Travelers Championship. Rounds of 62-63-64 gave Bradley a new 54 hole scoring record.
Notable Round 3 Travelers Championship Quotes
"The good part about having my family here is I get to be a dad in the morning and in the afternoon, so they don't let me think about it much. We'll hang out as a family and that helps a lot. I'm just going to have to go out and do what I've been doing and try to stick to the process and play my best." Keegan Bradley
"I mean, it is a different situation (to his 2019 win), right? I had a big lead and then Keegan made a bunch of birdies throughout the beginning and middle part of the round to make it really close. Tomorrow is going to be the opposite. It's going to be a shootout. We're one shot apart, and I'm not going to be able to go out there and just make some pars and kind of hang in there. I'm going to have to go make some birdies." Chez Reavie
2023 Travelers Championship Round 4 Weather
Partly cloudy with max wind 8mph in the afternoon
Back or Fade The Favourite?
Keegan Bradley is the 8/11 favourite. Ranking second SG: Tee to Green for the week, Bradley hasn't made a bogey since the 14th hole of his first round.
We advised Chez Reavie to subscribers at 200/1 at the start of the week and we're clinging to the fact Bradley has failed to convert his last three 54 hole leads. It would be a welcome surprise were Bradley to stumble but his performance when winning the Zozo Championship last year was competent and he's expected to put in a solid Sunday showing.
Reavie defeated Bradley to win this event in 2019 and shouldn't hold any fear going up against the local favourite. We're quietly optimistic about Reavie's chances and we certainly wouldn't be backing Bradley at the current odds.
In-Play Travelers Championship Bets We Considered
The 2/1 available on Ludvig Aberg to post a top 10 finish was a bet we considered. The Swedish youngster has posted back to back rounds of 65 and is only one shot off the top 10.
Travelers Championship Round 4 Bets
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24th June 2023, 11:15am (UK time)
Player | Total |
McCarthy |
-15 |
Bradley |
-15 |
Reavie |
-13 |
Cole |
-11 |
Blair |
-10 |
Scott |
-10 |
Three players tied |
-9 |
2023 Travelers Championship Round 2 Summary
Low scoring was once again the order of the day, with Denny McCarthy and Keegan Bradley setting a new 36 hole scoring record for the event.
Notable Round 2 Travelers Championship Quotes
"Golf tournaments aren't 36 holes unfortunately, so I know there is still a lot of golf left. I'm playing some really nice golf, so I'm looking forward to having fun this weekend and I'm looking forward to the challenge." Denny McCarthy
"I honestly think I'm putting at least as good now. I think I'm putting better than I ever have, with the belly putter, which for a little bit I didn't think that was possible. So it's such a great feeling." Keegan Bradley
"I'm playing the best I've played probably in a couple years, to be honest. The last two months I kind of started straightening it out and, yeah, hitting more fairways and giving myself good scoring opportunities. Yeah, I'm playing as good now as I've ever played." Chez Reavie
2023 Travelers Championship Round 3 Weather
Rain and thunderstorms possible (max wind 8mph in the afternoon)
Back or Fade The Favourite?
Denny McCarthy (5/2) edges Keegan Bradley (11/4) for favouritism.
McCarthy (2nd SG: Tee to Green) has played marginally better than Bradley (4th SG: Tee to Green) tee to green through the opening two rounds but we were surprised to see McCarthy installed as favourite. Bradley closed out well at the Zozo Championship at the end of last year and appears to be full of confidence with the putter right now, often the weakness in his game.
Yet to win on the PGA Tour, McCarthy would be a fade for us at the current price.
In-Play Travelers Championship Bets We Considered
Russell Knox made appeal at 5/2 to outscore Sahith Theegala and Kelly Kraft in their third round three ball. The Scot is a past winner of this event and has put together consecutive rounds of 68. Theegala has the worst tee to green stats of anyone who made the cut and seems out of sorts this week, whilst Kelly Kraft was over par in yesterday's second round and may struggle given his recent poor form.
Odds of 17/10 with Skybet on Zac Blair making the top 20 also stood out as tremendous value. We advised Blair yesterday to subscribers at 500/1 and he's certainly playing well enough (3rd SG: Tee to Green) to hang around the top of the leaderboard. If you can get that price we'd certainly suggest taking it.
Travelers Championship Round 3 Bets
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23rd June 2023, 9:50am (UK time)
Player | Total |
McCarthy |
-10 |
Scott |
-8 |
Bradley |
-8 |
Scheffler |
-7 |
Three players tied |
-6 |
2023 Travelers Championship Round 1 Summary
Keegan Bradley took the morning lead by two shots with a 62, however, Denny McCarthy breezed past that in the afternoon with a 60. Favourite Scottie Scheffler shot 63 and is now as short as 5/2.
Notable Round 1 Travelers Championship Quotes
"Ball striking. Ball striking is just slowly creeping along. Driving of the ball has been pretty good. Yeah, just trying to just find ways to get better. Sometimes that's just mentally." Denny McCarthy
"This is a special week. I don't get to have my family out here a lot anymore with school, and having them out here is an advantage for me." Keegan Bradley
"We travelled all day Monday and then I played nine holes Tuesday and that's pretty much it. Didn't practice at all." Scottie Scheffler
2023 Travelers Championship Round 2 Weather
Cloudy throughout the day (max wind 8mph in the afternoon)
Back or Fade The Favourite?
It's extremely hard to make a case against Scottie Scheffler, who has finished inside the top 5 in his last five starts, all of which with a mediocre or poor putting display. The only thing that can be said is he is not as clinical as he was last year but that would be a tough ask. We certainly wouldn't be fading him though but also aren't keen to take such a short price on Friday morning.
In-Play Travelers Championship Bets We Considered
With Scheffler's presence, aren't too keen on the outright market. Eric Cole made some appeal at 50/1 with an early start but we will look to focus on the 3-ball market today.
Travelers Championship Round 2 Bets
Want to know which bets we went with? You can sign up for all our PGA Tour tips for 2023 by clicking the button below.