Top-notch competition
Following the U.S. Open, the pros will compete in the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. We wouldn’t expect to see such a high-quality field a week following a major, especially when it includes a trip from California to Connecticut.
This week, five of the top ten and twenty-five of the top fifty golfers in the world will be in Cromwell, Connecticut. This includes defending champion and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, as well as top 10 players Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka’s ongoing banter and dispute.
Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, and golfers on a sponsors exemption, including collegiate player of the year John Pak, four-time All-American Austin Eckroat, and former No. 1 amateur Davis Thompson, are among the notable players. Three-time winner Bubba Watson, two-time winner Stewart Cink, Kevin Streelman, Marc Leishman, and 2021 PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson, who won the Travelers twice in 2001 and 2002, are among the 156 players in the field.
Last year’s betting review
After round one of the Travelers Championship, Dustin Johnson’s condition appeared to be bleak. After a one-under-par 69 on Thursday, the pre-event +2900 chance was tied for 79th, nine shots behind the first-round leader, Mackenzie Hughes.
He was matched at a high of +18900, and after a second-round 64, he was still six shots behind the leader, trading at a fractionally lower price than before the off. However, his lowest round on the PGA Tour, a nine-under-par 61 on Saturday, propelled him into the second position. Brendon Todd, the 54-hole leader by two strokes, remained ahead of him in the market, but that changed quickly on Sunday.
Todd started the fourth round steadily, parring hole after hole and after back-to-back birdies on four and five; Johnson was level and odds-on for the title. D.J. bogeyed the seventh to hand Todd the initiative again, but that appeared to spark the winner into life again.
Johnson birdied eight, nine, and ten to take control, and when Todd made his first deviation from par on the 13th, with a catastrophic triple-bogey seven, his first dropped shot in 61 holes, it was D.J.’s to lose. Having hit a low of -1250, D.J. then managed to make what should have been a straightforward canter to the winning line quite exciting.
However, he did go on to hole a seven-footer for a par six at 13 before birdieing the 14th. It appeared to be a done deal once more, but his tee-shot jammed on the bank off the 15th tee, narrowly missing the drink. When he duffed his second shot, his price jumped back up to approximately -1000, but in typical D.J. fashion, he calmly got up-and-down for par before the bell rang to stop play with only three holes to go.
As Dustin played around with the lead, Todd, a +44500 chance before the off, hit a low of +152, and Kevin Streelman, a +35900 chance before the off, hit a low of +200.
When play resumed, D.J. gave Streelman supporters even more optimism when he bogeyed the par-three 16th to cut his lead to one, but it was as close as he was going to get. D.J. won his 21st PGA Tour championship by simply parring the final two holes with the utmost ease.
Horses for courses
The Par 70 at the TPC River Highlands course is short, measuring less than 6,900 yards, and the course’s tree-lined fairways and doglegs necessitate shot shaping and missing in the right spots.
Pete Dye redesigned TPC River Highlands, and the prominent closing holes from 15-17 are known as the “Golden Triangle” because they contain water to hit over on approach.
Players who may be suffering from a U.S. Open hangover or who were in contention at the U.S. Open and left everything on the course should be cautious on their approach shot. Beyond what analytical metrics may reveal about their game and possible fit for TPC River Highlands, the psychological element of disappointment and underperformance is real.
Where’s the money?
Let’s now look at the betting for the week ahead:
• Bryson DeChambeau: +1200
• Dustin Johnson: +1200
• Patrick Cantlay: +1300
• Paul Casey: +1500
• Brooks Koepka: +1600
• Patrick Reed: +2000
• Scottie Scheffler: +2200
• Abraham Ancer: +2500
• Brian Harman: +2500
• Kevin Streelman: +2800
• Tony Finau: +2800
• Charley Hoffman: +3500
• Keegan Bradley: +3500
• Harris English: +4000
• Joaquin Niemann: +4000
• Matthew Wolff: +4000
• Bubba Watson: +4500
• Cameron Smith: +4500
• Si Woo Kim: +4500
• Russell Henley: +5000
• Sam Burns: +5000
• Garrick Higgo: +5500
• Justin Rose: +5500
• Adam Scott: +6000
• Rickie Fowler: +6000
• Doc Redman: +6600
• Jason Day: +6600
• Brendon Todd: +7000
• Emiliano Grillo: +7000
• Francesco Molinari: +7000
• Ian Poulter: +7000
• Marc Leishman: +7000
• Phil Mickelson: +7000
• Max Homa: +7500
• Aaron Wise: +8000
• Cameron Tringale: +8000
• Carlos Ortiz: +8000
• Kevin Na: +8000
• Stewart Cink: +8000
• Guido Migliozzi: +9000
• Harold Varner III: +9000
• Kyle Stanley: +9000
• Lanto Griffin: +9000
• Brandt Snedeker: +10000
• Chris Kirk: +10000
• Mackenzie Hughes: +10000
• Russell Knox: +10000
• Dough Ghim: +11000
• Kevin Kisner: +11000
• Ryan Moore: +11000
• Brendan Steele: +11500
• Adam Hadwin: +12500
• Chez Reavie: +12500
• Erik van Rooyen: +12500
• Joel Dahmen: +12500
• Matt Jones: +12500
• Patrick Rodgers: +12500
• Patton Kizzire: +12500
• Talor Gooch: +12500
• Zach Johnson: +12500
• Maverick McNealy: +14000
• C.T. Pan: +15000
• Chesson Hadley: +15000
• Danny Lee: +15000
• Pat Perez: +15000
• Richy Werenski: +15000
• Scott Stallings: +15000
• Sebastian Munoz: +15000
• Dylan Frittelli: +17500
• Hank Lebioda: +17500
• Joseph Bramlett: +17500
• Luke List: +17500
• Ryan Armour: +17500
• Troy Merritt: +17500
• Byeong Hun An: +20000
• Henrik Norlander: +20000
• Nick Taylor: +20000
Hey Guys
My name is Dean, AKA The Stat Man. I am a Sports Betting Analyst who uses math, algorithms, probability and logic to create my posts. I specialize in many sports, with Golf being the primary focus. You can find a lot of my work on various websites but the best content is found here on Beer Life.
I live in the UK, on the outskirts of London but my background and heritage is Irish. I'm an avid Manchester United fan who sees following them as a religion. Sport is pretty much my life, as I live and breathe it daily. If there is something I don't know it's probably not worth knowing as I have over 20 years industry experience and insight.
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