Despite having the misfortune of being the follow-up to the U.S. Open, the Travelers Championship has been one of the most consistently thrilling events on Tour in recent years. Last year was no exception, as Harrish English survived an eight-hole playoff over little-known Kramer Hickok. English has been in questionable form coming off an injury, and Hickok has completely imploded in his last nine starts, so we are not especially high on a repeat, but the field is strong, boasting nine players who rank inside the top 20 in the OWGR.
TPC River Highlands is again the host venue for the Cromwell, Connecticut based tournament, which has a rich history dating back to 1952. Who do we like in the 2022 edition?
15. Harris English
The defending champion put on a show last year, outlasting Kramer Hickok in an epic eight-hole playoff. He recorded 4s on the first seven extra holes before sinking a long winning birdie putt on the eighth. It’s difficult to have much belief in the current state of English’s game: he missed five months with injury, and in his two starts since he has come back, he went 77-77 at The Memorial, and then after making the weekend at the U.S. Open, shot 78-77 on the weekend to finish T61. Still, once he gets his feet back under him, he is one of the best golfers in the world, and maybe that could come this week. He does have good vibes with this course, between his win a year ago and his T7 in 2014.
Odds: 100/1
World Rank: 28th
FEC Rank: 201st
Best at Travelers: 1st (2021)
Last Six: 61, MC, 55, 30, 14, MC
14. Kevin Streelman
A bonafide horse for the course, Streelman has five top-10s in his TPC River Highlands career, winning the 2014 edition by one stroke and finishing runner-up to Dustin Johnson in 2020. Recent starts on Tour have not been strong, so this ranking is based almost entirely on course history. The 43-year-old Duke product does rank 7th on Tour in driving accuracy, however. He could easily contend again if his putting is even average.
Odds: 100/1
World Rank: 124th
FEC Rank: 112th
Best at Travelers: 1st (2014)
Last Six: MC, MC, 41, MC, 67, MC
13. Seamus Power
Shane Lowry was the Irishman we were high on for last week’s U.S. Open, but it was Power who made Ireland fans most proud, finishing T12 in his tournament debut. It was a second straight great major result, as he finished T9 at May’s PGA Championship. It has been a remarkable season for the 35-year-old, who has 12 results inside the top 25 in 22 starts. Power finished T19 at last year’s Travelers Championship.
Odds: 40/1
World Rank: 36th
FEC Rank: 26th
Best at Travelers: 19th (2021)
Last Six: 12, MC, 9, 17, MC, 27
12. Aaron Wise
Wise was in the thick of contention at Brookline, opening the U.S. Open with a pair of 68s, landing him just one stroke behind the 36-hole leaders. He ran out of gas on the weekend, going 74-75 to finish T27, but he has been in mostly excellent form as of late, most evident by his runner-up finish earlier this month at The Memorial. He tends to run very hot and cold, so there is good reason to expect his strong play to continue this week in Cromwell.
Odds: 40/1
World Rank: 45th
FEC Rank: 29th
Best at Travelers: 46th (2020)
Last Six: 27, 2, 23, 51, 6, 21
11. Tony Finau
With two runner-up performances among three top-5 finishes in his last five starts, it has appeared that Finau had emphatically busted out of the slump that had plagued most of his 2022 season. We had considerable confidence in his chances at the U.S. Open last week, but he disappointed badly, shooting 73-72 and missing the cut entirely. So, which version of Finau can be expected this week? If he gets his putting back under control, we would more expect the version that posted top 25s in his first three attempts at the Travelers, than the one that has missed the cut in his last three attempts.
Odds: 33/1
World Rank: 17th
FEC Rank: 38th
Best at Travelers: 17th (2017)
Last Six: MC, 2, 4, 30, 41, 2
10. Keegan Bradley
The resident New Englander should have plenty of fanfare in Connecticut, giving further credence to Bradley’s chances coming off a T7 at last week’s U.S. Open where he made the penultimate Sunday pairing. It was his fourth top-10 in his last six starts and sixth on the season. Greatly improved putting has catalyzed Bradley’s best Tour season in the past five years, and he hopes to keep that going in a tournament he has 11 times, including a T2 to Chez Reavie in 2019.
Odds: 33/1
World Rank: 44th
FEC Rank: 22nd
Best at Travelers: 2nd (2019)
Last Six: 7, 37, 48, 2, 8, 35
9. Sungjae Im
A missed cut at last week’s U.S. Open snapped a five-start streak for Im, of finishing T21 or better. During that stretch, he shot eight rounds of 70 out of 20 rounds played total, which really means nothing, but is interesting nonetheless. He has just three missed cuts in 19 starts this season, so we’re not worried he’s going to start slumping. No notable results here in two attempts, but he had three rounds in the 60s both times. Im currently ranks inside the top 10 on Tour in strokes gained: around-the-green and strokes gained: tee-to-green.
Odds: 28/1
World Rank: 21st
FEC Rank: 20th
Best at Travelers: 21st (2019)
Last Six: MC, 10, 15, 21, 8, 35
8. Denny McCarthy
He was overshadowed by a few other players looking for their first Tour win, but McCarthy was as relevant as he has ever been in a major a week ago, riding a stellar 68-68 weekend to a T7 finish. The top-10 came off the heels of a T5 two weeks earlier at The Memorial. On the year, the 29-year-old has missed just four cuts in 23 starts, and has finished inside the top 25 on ten occasions. McCarthy has had no notable finishes at the Travelers, but is in peak form and has twice completed a round of 66.
Odds: 66/1
World Rank: 93rd
FEC Rank: 40th
Best at Travelers: 47th (2018)
Last Six: 7, 5, 27, 48, 25, 56
7. Jordan Spieth
Ranked 11th in both the OWGR and the FedExCup standings, Spieth has had a solid season, but underwhelmed a week ago at the U.S. Open, shooting all four rounds in the 70s to finish 7-over and a tie for 37th. Does Spieth bounce back this week? We think so. Since missing the cut at The Masters, he’s 6-for-6 with a win, a runner-up, and a T7. He also has great memories of TPC River Highlands, with his bunker hole-out playoff victory in 2017 providing possibly the most iconic moment of his career. It is worth noting though, that he has nothing better than a T42 in three Travelers attempts since that victory.
Odds: 22/1
World Rank: 11th
FEC Rank: 12th
Best at Travelers: 1st (2017)
Last Six: 37, 18, 7, 34, 2, 1
6. Sam Burns
It was a disappointing Sunday at last week’s U.S. Open for Burns, but it had to help that he got his first taste of major championship contention, just four strokes off the 54-hole lead. For the season, Burns has been phenomenal, with three victories and a runner-up in 18 starts, which has him second in the FedExCup standings. The man who ranks fourth on Tour in strokes gained: total, was T13 in this event a year ago, and his profile has skyrocketed in the time since. He most recently won the Charles Schwab Challenge less than a month ago.
Odds: 18/1
World Rank: 9th
FEC Rank: 4th
Best at Travelers: 13th (2021)
Last Six: 27, 4, 1, 20, MC, MC
5. Justin Thomas
Rejuvenated by a thrilling comeback victory in May’s PGA Championship, JT posted a 63-64 weekend two starts ago at the RBC Canadian Open, and was among the betting favorites for the U.S. Open. He opened well, shooting a 1-under 69, but was never able to make his move, going 72-72-74 and finishing T37. This has not been a tremendous event for him, with just one finish of better than T30 in seven attempts. We could really see anything happening this week for the World No. 5, but lean towards a very high finish. He currently ranks third on Tour in scoring average, strokes gained: tee-to-green, and strokes gained: total.
Odds: 12/1
World Rank: 5th
FEC Rank: 5th
Best at Travelers: 3rd (2016)
Last Six: 37, 3, MC, 1, 5, 35
4. Patrick Cantlay
Looking for his first solo victory in 2022, coming off a 2021 where he won four times and was named PGA Tour Player of the Year, the world No. 6 seems to be trending back in the right direction, with four results of T14 in his last five starts, with three of those being inside the top 3. It is difficult to see Cantlay struggling much this week, given his recent form, and the fact that he has finished in the top-15 in his last four starts at TPC River Highlands.
Odds: 14/1
World Rank: 6th
FEC Rank: 9th
Best at Travelers: 11th (2020)
Last Six: 14, 3, MC, 2, 39, 26
3. Scottie Scheffler
It says a lot about the season the world No. 1 is having that Scheffler finished runner-up at the U.S. Open last week, and it wasn’t even one of his best four results of the season. There were a few times at Brookline where he looked on the verge of taking control of the tournament, so there could be some scar tissue with not pulling it off, but he has yet to show the appearance of a guy who can be shaken. Last season at TPC River Highlands, Scheffler got off to an encouraging 69-65 start, but tumbled down the leaderboard after two poor weekend rounds, finishing 47th. He will be looking to add this to his conquered list.
Odds: 10/1
World Rank: 1st
FEC Rank: 1st
Best at Travelers: 47th (2021)
Last Six: 2, 18, 2, MC, 15, 1
2. Xander Schauffele
Probably the Tour’s most “overdue” player for a major championship win, Schauffele did not factor into the leadership mix at last week’s U.S. Open, but after a final-round 68, his T14 finish looks more than respectable. It was Schauffele’s fifth straight top-20 finish, a streak that began when he won the Zurich Classic while teamed up with Patrick Cantlay, the reason why we used “probably” in that first sentence. Ranking 7th on Tour in strokes gained: tee-to-green, Schauffele showed comfort in Cromwell two years ago, opening with a 63 and finishing T20. He sat out last year’s edition.
Odds: 20/1
World Rank: 15th
FEC Rank: 21st
Best at Travelers: 20th (2020)
Last Six: 14, 18, 13, 5, MC, 35
1. Rory McIlroy
Now No. 2 in the world rankings, Rory’s fans had great optimism about his chances at last week’s U.S. Open, after he closed with a 62 the week earlier to win the RBC Canadian Open, his 21st career Tour victory. He finished T5 at Brookline, his fifth top-10 in his last six starts. He was unable to make the move he needed to on the weekend but did find a way to make things briefly interested on Sunday’s back-nine. Rory currently leads the tour in scoring average, strokes gained: tee-to-green, and strokes gained: total. In three attempts at The Travelers, he has finishing T17 in each, and has shot an over-par round just once in 12 rounds. There’s very little reason to expect a fall-off this week.
Odds: 10/1
World Rank: 2nd
FEC Rank: 2nd
Best at Travelers: 11th (2020)
Last Six: 5, 1, 18, 8, 5, 2
Next Five: Webb Simpson, Chez Reavie, Joaquin Niemann, Joel Dahmen, Harold Varner III
