As you would expect in a fully loaded field packed with some of the world’s finest golfers, after two rounds of the Travelers Championship we have a stacked leaderboard and the tournament still looks wide open.
We have already said goodbye to some big names with Tony Finau, Ricky Fowler and Francesco Molinari all missing the cut.
Leading the way at -9 is Jason Day with Bubba Watson and Kramer Hickok one off the lead at -8 and a whole host of players on -7.
With the promise of further twists and turns, we pick our three best bets for what looks set to be a fantastic few final rounds at the 2021 Travelers Championship.
Russell Henley
Sitting just two shots off the lead at -7, Russell Henley is an attractive price to claim the tournament victory at +1400. Coming into the Travelers following a positive showing at The U.S. Open, Henley is clearly in good form, carding a -4 2nd round score.
There are some good reasons to be confident about the selection.
Henley is playing well from tee to green. He finished round 2 with a driving accuracy of 86% and found 83% of greens in regulation. What’s more, according to the official PGA Tour stats, Henley sits in 5th in round 3 scoring, shooting on average 68.77 a stroke under the average of 70, so I am hoping for a successful day tomorrow.
A three time winner on Tour, Henley is enjoying a solid 2021 season with 4 four top ten finishes and he is currently ranked 47th in the Fedex Cup rankings. I think being only two shots of the lead but being priced at +1400 represents some great value and I feel Henley has a good chance of adding a 4th career victory.
Stewart Cink
Enjoying something of a comeback season, Stewart Cink is playing some brilliant golf.
A winner at The Safeway Open and The RBC Heritage, Cink is a past winner of The Travelers winning the tournament back in 2018.
Currently sitting at -5 and only four shots off the lead, Cink is priced at a lofty +6600 to claim a second Travelers Championship.
Looking at Cink’s 2021 stats there are a few surprises. Despite being a veteran of the Tour, Cink has clearly not lost any of his power as he is ranked 29th for total driving distance – averaging a whopping 306 yards. What is more impressive is that Cink is ranked 7th for greens in regulation.
Cink enjoyed a good second round carding a -3 67, but coming back in he left a few makable birdie putts out on the course.
Needing to make up some ground, I figure it makes sense to side with a player who can drive it far and give himself plenty of looks for birdie. Hoping his putter can get hot and having won the tournament previously. I’m backing the former Open champion to make a weekend charge.
Satoshi Kodaira
An unlikely winner but a player who has been playing well in recent weeks is Japanese golfer Satoshi Kodaira. Sitting four shots of the lead at -5, Kodaira entered the Travelers with three consecutive top twenty finishes and started the tournament with a blistering -7 opening round.
What has drawn me to Kodaira is not only his good recent form but his performances in the third round of Tour events. Kodaira currently sits in 6th for third-round scoring but is 2nd when it comes to total putts in round 3.
Kodaira found the second round tough, shooting +2, his driving accuracy and green in regulation stats were poor but I am hoping he can bounce back tomorrow.
A one time winner on Tour, I am hoping the Japanese golfer can maintain his strong round 3 form and give himself a chance of a shock victory entering Sunday.
Kodaira is currently priced at +15000 for the victory.
All prices are courtesy of DraftKing’s sportsbook and are correct at the time of publishing.
Passionate writer about golf and the PGA Tour, you won’t find me on the fairway but instead hacking my way round the course. Terrible driver of the ball, even worse putter.
Love all sports but have decided to make my sporting life as miserable as possible by supporting Tottenham Hotspur and the Dallas Cowboys, who between them have gone almost a century without a major league title.
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