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Travelers Championship Picks: DeChambeau, Johnson Favored

Matt Schmitto Thu 7/8 8:13am PT

PGA odds are out at all of our favorite sportsbooks, and we’re ready to get started with some 2021 Travelers Championship picks. First, let’s look at the course and then at who oddsmakers like to win this week’s PGA tournament.

Course Preview — TPC River Highlands

PGA Odds: DeChambeau Picked to Win Travelers Championship

Dustin Johnson is the No. 1 player in the world, but it’s Bryson DeChambeau who, according to the betting odds, is favored to win the Travelers Championship.

DeChambeau enters the tournament at +1100 following a terrible back nine on Sunday at the U.S. Open. Before shooting 44 on his final nine holes, the long hitter made the turn as a co-leader. Johnson, on the other hand, wasn’t really ever in contention at the U.S. Open, but he did make the cut and played well on Sunday.

Both golfers have found success at TPC River Highlands, the course hosting the Travelers Championship, throughout their golf careers. DeChambeau has finished inside the top-10 in each of his previous three appearances, while Johnson is the defending champion after shooting a blistering 19-under through four rounds in 2020.

While the two golfers combine for a 16% chance of winning this week (the implied probability based on their current odds), a strong field makes the trip to Connecticut to compete for the $1.33M first-place prize. Here are just a few of the golfers DeChambeau and Johnson will have to watch out for when the field tees off on Thursday.

Patrick Cantlay +1400 – On Sunday at Torrey Pines, Cantlay had one of the most impressive rounds of the U.S. Open. He went bogey-free in difficult, strenuous conditions. Only a few golfers shot under par in Round 4, and Cantlay was one of them. He’s a superb iron player, which should bode well for him at the Travelers Championship. He’s definitely deserving of being on your radar at TPC River Highlands, a short course where DeChambeau and Johnson won’t necessarily have a huge advantage off the tee.

Brooks Koepka +1600 – Koepka doesn’t normally take non-major events seriously. Just look at his missed cut two weeks ago followed by a T4 at the U.S. Open. He saves his best for majors, and he’ll confess as much. But there’s a rivalry brewing on Tour, and Brooksy’s archnemesis, DeChambeau, joins him in Connecticut this week. Will that give Koepka enough motivation to step things up without a major trophy on the line?

Paul Casey +1600 – Looking for someone who loves this course? Well, you’ve found your horse. Casey finished only T32 at the Travelers last year, but he’s had four top-5 finishes over the last seven years. Like Cantlay, Casey looks to build off of the momentum after playing some of his best golf on Saturday and Sunday. Despite barely making the cut on Friday, the Englishman fired off rounds of 67 and 70 to finish T7. The question is, can he win this week?

Tony Finau +2500 – Finau missed the cut at Torrey Pines, but I’m not counting that against him. TPC River Highlands is no U.S. Open setup. However, there’s still reason to approach Finau with caution. He’s missed two cuts in a row at the Travelers Championship, so his course history here is somewhat of a mess. On the other hand, he has three top-25s. What gives? I don’t hate playing Finau in some fantasy formats, as the bomber provides plenty of scoring upside, but he hasn’t proven that he can win on tour, so I’ll be staying away from him in the betting markets

Travelers Championship Picks

What you’ll soon find out about me and the way I approach golf betting, is that I love betting on longshots. Sure, Jon Rahm won as the favorite last week, but that was the U.S. Open. In general, golf is the one sport where you have a chance to hit anywhere from a 60-1 to a 100-1 winner any given week. Remember at the PGA Championship, Phil Mickelson was something like a 300-1 winner! Anyways, I digress. Here are a few of my favorite picks for the Travelers Championship.

Editor’s Note: For more Travelers Championship Picks, make sure to sign up for SAO Premium, where you’ll find more expert picks for golf matchups, place finishes, made/missed cuts, etc.!

Matthew Wolff +5000 (BetMGM) – Wolff opened with +3500 odds at some sportsbooks Monday morning, but by lunch BetMGM Sportsbook had him listed at +5000. That’s the exact price I was looking for. Wolff, fresh off a two-month hiatus in which he used to work on his mental health, was on fire during Round 1 of the U.S. Open. He had a ridiculous eight birdies and stayed in contention until Sunday. He eventually fell off, but it was still a great tournament for the former NCAA Men’s Individual Champion. Wolff has already proven he can win on Tour. I’m happy to get him at this price after showing he’s back in form last week.

Rickie Fowler +7000 (DraftKings Sportsbook) – Here’s another golfer I want to take the opportunity to “buy low.” Fowler has had his fair share of struggles, to be sure, but he’s shown some signs that he might be turning the corner and has become more comfortable with his recent swing change. Fowler’s struggles have been so bad that he didn’t even qualify for the U.S. Open, but don’t consider his absence last week necessarily a bad thing. Traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast is a long trip. Unlike many of his competitors, Fowler will be fresh and ready to play. As for his current form, he’s finished T8 and T11 in his last two tournaments, including the PGA Championship.

Stewart Cink +10000 – My third and final pick might be my favorite value for the Travelers Championship. Stewart Cink is one of two golfers who has won twice this season. The other? Bryson DeChambeau. Cink, 48, has made some similar swing changes to help him add distance to his drives. No, he’s not hitting it 350 yards like Bryson, but the results speak for themselves. Moreover, Cink has had plenty of success over the years at TPC River Highlands, including a pair of victories and a runner-up. I love these 100-1 odds on Cink grabbing his third win of the season.

_Image Credit: Imagn_

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