A busy, three-week stretch on the PGA Tour comes to an end this week as players make their way from North Carolina to Connecticut for the 2024 Travelers Championship. The second of two signature events to sandwich the third major championship of the year, the Travelers Championship will welcome at field of 71 players to TPC River Highlands.
Notably absent is Rory McIlroy, who fresh off his agonizing defeat at the U.S. Open has decided to take some time away from the game before his defense at the Scottish Open in three weeks. McIlroy's omission will leave the door open for others to possibly claim the title with the elephant in the room still being world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler experienced his worst result of the season at last week's U.S. Open carding only four birdies across four rounds and was unable to break par once. He should return to his usual self this week as he performed well last year en route to a top-10 finish and seeks his sixth victory of the season.
Someone who has won at this golf course already in his career is world No. 2 Xander Schauffele. The PGA Championship winner notched a top-10 finish at the U.S. Open, making it eight straight top 15s to start his career in that specific championship. Perhaps the most well-rounded player in the game, Schauffele has eyes on his second victory at TPC River Highlands after outlasting Sahith Theegala in 2022.
Ludvig Åberg, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland and Patrick Cantlay are among those in fine form aiming to capture their first trophies of the year, while major champions like Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Wyndham Clark round out a star-studded cast set to take the stage in New England.
2024 Travelers Championship schedule
Dates: June 20-23
Location: TPC River Highlands — Cromwell, Connecticut
Par: 70 | Yardage: 6,852
Purse: $20,000,000
2024 Travelers Championship field, odds
- Scottie Scheffler (7/2): The world No. 1 experienced a number of professional firsts at Pinehurst. He carded four straight over-par rounds for the first time in 120 professional starts and averaged just one birdie per round on top of that. The level of concern is still a zero as Scheffler hit the ball like he normally does but was fooled on the putting surfaces. Getting off slick Bermuda grass should be a welcomed sight and allow him to continue his love affair with his mallet putter that had gained him strokes in seven straight tournaments before the U.S. Open.
- Xander Schauffele (7-1): Schauffele has now rattled off four straight top-10 finishes dating back to the Wells Fargo Championship, and the most recent two have come without his best stuff. Struggling with the driver at Pinehurst and hitting just about 50% of the fairways, Schauffele did well to skirt his way inside the top 10 by week's end. It would surprise no one if he does much better this week and actually plays himself into contention over the weekend as he has four top 20s in five appearances including that win two years ago.
- Ludvig Åberg (12-1)
- Collin Morikawa (12-1)
- Viktor Hovland (18-1)
- Patrick Cantlay (20-1): Cantlay appeared to have turned the corner at the U.S. Open where he notched his third top-five finish of the season. Coming close to nabbing the victory, the former FedEx Cup champion found something in his iron play that we had not seen in quite some time. If there is ever a place for Cantlay to continue this upward trend it is TPC River Highlands where he has finished inside the top 15 in his last six appearanecs.
- Hideki Matsuyama (25-1)
- Russell Henley (28-1): Henley's high floor was matched with a high-ceiling performance at the U.S. Open where he raced through the finish line and into the top 10 by tournament's end. He now quietly has three top 15s in his last four U.S. Opens, and his ability to split fairways consistently and hole putts with confidence should come in handy at TPC River Highlands. Finishing inside the top 20 in his last two trips up to Connecticut, the Georgia Bulldog should love his chances this week given his form, the fit and the confidence with which he is playing.
- Sam Burns (30-1)
- Tony Finau (30-1): Finau has found his groove. A top-three finish at the U.S. Open marked his fourth straight top 20 and his second straight top 10 as he arrived in Pinehurst off a nice result at Jack's place. He continues to drive the ball much better and hit his irons as well as anyone, but the reason for the uptick lies in the short-game department. Finau has now gained strokes on the greens in back-to-back starts for the first time since March and will threaten for the title if he makes that three in a row this week.
- Tommy Fleetwood (30-1)
2024 Travelers Championship expert picks
| Winner (30-1): The Englishman has yet to win on the PGA Tour, but a small field at a course like TPC River Highlands feels like the correct landing spot for him. Fleetwood had a great final round at the U.S. Open to climb inside the top 20 marking his third in his last five starts. He's been doing everything well so far in 2024, but Fleetwood has yet to experience that spike week throughout the bag. If it happens in Connecticut, he should threaten the winner's circle. | |
| Contender (45-1): I know what you're thinking, and I totally agree, but Spieth showed promise at Pinehurst. He gained nearly eight strokes on approach (his best of the season) and continued to drive the golf ball great only to make nothing on the greens. Spieth should continue to put the ball in play off the tee, and the number of wedge opportunities at TPC River Highlands may actually relieve some of that stress on that wrist. If it does and the approach numbers continue to shine, Spieth has shown before he can get the job done here. | |
| Sleeper (50-1): The big Austrian is playing like a top-10 player on the PGA Tour at the moment with four top 10s in his last six individual outings including top fives in signature events like the RBC Heritage and Memorial. Straka is surging with his approach play, gaining massively on the field in that department, and that will be huge for his chances this week. He's great off the tee, has improved his short game and can win on these types of golf courses as shown by his John Deere Classic victory last summer. | |
Who will win the Travelers Championship, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard and best bets, all from the model that's nailed 13 golf majors and is up nearly $9,500 since June 2020.
