The Travelers Championship is one of the most exciting, energized events on the PGA Tour and will host the 2023 edition at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, this week. The Travelers is an elevated event with a $20 million purse and massive FedExCup points at stake, which is becoming more important with each event as we near the FedExCup playoffs in August. Fans enjoy creating a raucous atmosphere on a course that rewards accuracy and finesse over power.
Xander Schauffele won by two strokes at the 2022 Travelers Championship, logging -7-under-par outings in each of his first two rounds to build an insurmountable lead en route to his victory. Harris English, Dustin Johnson, Chez Reavie, Bubba Watson, and Jordan Spieth are previous outright winners at TPC River Highlands. This week, Spieth has opted to skip this designated event, while English is 75/1, and Reavie is a massive 400/1 longshot via DraftKings Sportsbook’s current outright winner odds.
Wyndham Clark just secured his first major win at the 2023 U.S. Open, playing great from start to finish with a strong driver, accurate irons, and consistent putting. He’s currently landing 35/1 odds, which is a massive value hit compared to the 75/1 odds most sportsbooks valued Clark at ahead of his win at LACC. Of course, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm continue to stay atop the outright winner odds as the World No. 1 and World No. 2 ranked golfers, followed by Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, and Patrick Cantlay.
Let’s review the rest of the current outright betting odds ahead of the 2023 Travelers Championship, including previous winners, relevant betting stats, and an in-depth review of the course layout. Then, we’ll get into a few of my top players and reveal the reasoning to bet them outright ahead of Thursday’s opening round from TPC River Highlands.
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Travelers Championship Betting Odds
2023 Travelers Championship Betting Preview
Previous Winners
- 2022 - Xander Schauffele (-19)
- 2021 - Harris English (-13)
- 2020 - Dustin Johnson (-19)
- 2019 - Chez Reavie (-17)
- 2018 - Bubba Watson (-17)
- 2017 - Jordan Spieth (-12)
Relevant Betting Stats
- Strokes Gained Off-the-Tee
- Strokes Gained Approaching the Green
- Scrambling
- Total Driving
- Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green
- Sand Save percentage
Course Layout
TPC River Highlands is a par 70 that is less than 7,000 yards. Designed by Pete Dye, this course places a premium on ball-striking, which means players who possess powerful, accurate irons will have a leg up on the rest of the field. Most of the par 4s are under 450 yards and will create ample birdie opportunities, but players should be weary of the numerous hazards that come along with these shortened track. These include tall rough, rows of trees, and a mixture of bentgrass and Poa Annua greens that will change the pace of putts and approach shots. More water hazards will emerge, starting at the 8th hole, and continue throughout most of the back nine.
Only two par 5s will provide relief, but the lack of length will allow accurate, powerful shots to get to the greens within one or two strokes. There are only two par 4s that run north of 260 yards, which is a much different layout than the distance baked into recent designated and major events. Four par 3s, evenly distributed along the front and back nine, run anywhere from 158 yards to 229 yards in length. Most of the fairways are doglegged and use trees as a shield to block the hole location on the greens, along with an abundance of circular sand bunkers flanking the greens and fairways. Players who can find the fairways consistently will avoid the tall rough, along with dozens of sand bunkers and water hazards, but there won’t be much undulation in comparison to LACC.
Top Players To Bet For Outright Travelers Championship Winner
Scottie Scheffler (+600) (Bet $100 to collect $700) DraftKings for the best Scottie Scheffler odds
Scottie Scheffler dominates every event with his ball striking. Only the putter has held him back from collecting more outright wins this season. While Scheffler hasn’t won in a couple of months, he’s logged five consecutive T5 finishes, which is a testament to his consistency and brilliance with his irons. 7/1 is not extremely valuable since Scheffler is once again the outright betting favorite, but he has improved each year at TPC River Highlands, cracking a T15 finish after previously logging a T47 in 2021. Scheffler is due for his third outright win soon, so with a rowdy atmosphere and a course that rewards accuracy and iron play, we need to lay a healthy unit wager on Scheffler’s current +700 outright odds before they dry up once play gets underway.
Viktor Hovland (+2000) (Bet $100 to collect $2,100) For the best Viktor Hovland odds go to DraftKings
Watching Viktor Hovland extend his annual outright winning streak to four years at The Memorial Tournament, which was an elevated event, showcased how good the Norwegian’s ball-striking talent can be. He struggled to make a few birdie putts at the U.S. Open, putting him out of contention, but expect Hovland to be prepared for a strong bounce-back effort at TPC River Highlands. He hasn’t competed here since 2020 when he logged a T11 finish after starting -7-under-par. Hovland has minimal difficulty finding greens in regulation and scrambling when he doesn’t, so as long as the putter acts more like it did at Memorial than it did at the U.S. Open, we’re due for a nice payout at 20/1 odds. Let’s bet this number with confidence.
Collin Morikawa (+2500) (Bet $100 to collect $2,600) Head to DraftKings for the best Collin Morikawa odds
I haven’t been on Collin Morikawa much this season. He’s struggled to be consistent in all four rounds, but his irons are still the best part of his game. Morikawa has built momentum entering Travelers, though, going T26, T29, WD, and T14. He is ranked 13th in total strokes gained, including fifth tee-to-green, second approaching the green, and 25th off-the-tee. His putter has been his Achilles heel, ranking 143rd this season. However, he’s able to hit greens in regulation at over a 69.6 percent rate, which bodes well for his outlook this week. Morikawa’s previous finish here was a missed cut in 2020, but I like how his ball striking has looked lately, so let’s put a small bet on Morikawa at 22/1 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Tommy Fleetwood (+2500) (Bet $100 to collect $2,600) DraftKings has the best Tommy Fleetwood odds
Tommy Fleetwood is one of my favorite outright prospects to bet on at TPC River Highlands this week. After a forgettable start at the U.S. Open, the Englishman went -7-under-par in the final round, one week after he nearly secured the first outright win of his PGA Tour career in a four-hole playoff against Nick Taylor at the RBC Canadian Open. Fleetwood’s stats are enticing. He’s ranked sixth tee-to-green, 23rd approaching the green, and 10th around the green. Plus, his 24th strokes gained putting, which is a huge skill set to possess on top of the premium ball striking he can deliver. An accurate driver and 18th scrambling rank should launch Fleetwood up all of our outright betting boards this week. I love the value we’re getting at 35/1, even though we haven’t seen Fleetwood collect an outright win yet. It’s only a matter of time, and he’s red-hot right now, so let’s wager confidently on his outright odds this week.
Tom Kim (+3500) (Bet $100 to collect $3,600) Go to DraftKings for the best Tom Kim odds
Tom Kim surged briefly at the U.S. Open before settling back into his average, winding up with a T8 finish. The 20-year-old South Korean prospect burst onto the scene in 2022, but it’s been a bit of a sluggish showing in recent events before LACC. Kim has bounced around between T7 and T34 finishes, while he logged two consecutive missed cuts before a better outing at the U.S. Open. Kim will make his debut at TPC River Highlands, where he could produce a monster outing due to ranking 17th tee-to-green, eighth approaching the green and 14th total driving. He finds greens in regulation at nearly a 70 percent clip, so at 45/1, I really like his outlook to contend down the stretch. Let’s sprinkle on Kim’s 45/1 odds and watch his irons keep him near the top of the leaderboard at TPC River Highlands.
