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Travelers Championship First Click: Course history, Signature Event studs and more
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The PGA Tour heads to TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., for the 2024 edition of the Travelers Championship.
The event is again part of the Signature Event series on the PGA Tour. A limited field will compete this week for a purse of $20 million, with the winner receiving more than $3.5 million.
This week is the eighth signature event of the 2024 calendar. Here is a list of the winners of the previous seven.
The Sentry: Chris Kirk
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Wyndham Clark
The Genesis Invitational: Hideki Matsuyama
Arnold Palmer Invitational: Scottie Scheffler
RBC Heritage: Scottie Scheffler
Wells Fargo Championship: Rory McIlroy
Memorial: Scottie Scheffler
After a run of longshots, it’s been nothing but chalk in the last four big-purse events on the PGA Tour.
However, on the heels of one of, if not the, hardest tests the sport has to offer - a U.S. Open setup - perhaps this is a week to target some longshots once again.
Scottie Scheffler has won five times this year but looked more frustrated than ever while competing in the U.S. Open, only making four birdies all week and tying for 41st.
Meanwhile, it was another trip down heartbreak road for Rory McIlroy as the 35-year-old missed two putts from inside four feet on his final holes Sunday and missed out on the fifth major of his career by one shot.
Join me as I highlight some notable stats and trends to help make your picks for this week’s Travelers Championship while also sharing my first click of the week as we look to keep the winning ways going in this column.
TPC River Highlands Course History
TPC River Highlands Course History
| GOLFER | RDs | OTT | APP | BS | ARG | PUTT | SG | T2G | TOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xander Schauffele | 18 | 0.49 | 0.51 | 1 | -0.02 | 1.05 | 1.03 | 0.97 | 2.03 |
| Rory McIlroy | 20 | 1.02 | 0.63 | 1.65 | 0.5 | -0.18 | 0.32 | 2.15 | 1.97 |
| Patrick Cantlay | 32 | 0.3 | 0.86 | 1.16 | 0.16 | 0.27 | 0.43 | 1.32 | 1.59 |
| Scottie Scheffler | 14 | 0.62 | 0.46 | 1.08 | 0.3 | 0.15 | 0.46 | 1.38 | 1.54 |
| Brian Harman | 48 | 0.27 | 0.51 | 0.77 | 0.32 | 0.4 | 0.72 | 1.09 | 1.5 |
| Justin Rose | 34 | 0.38 | 0.83 | 1.21 | 0.03 | 0.06 | 0.08 | 1.24 | 1.29 |
| Russell Henley | 22 | 0.45 | 0.91 | 1.36 | 0.17 | -0.24 | -0.07 | 1.53 | 1.29 |
| Keegan Bradley | 48 | 0.13 | 0.75 | 0.88 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.39 | 1.07 | 1.27 |
| Sahith Theegala | 10 | 0.01 | 0.21 | 0.22 | 0.03 | 0.91 | 0.94 | 0.24 | 1.15 |
| Jason Day | 32 | 0.25 | 0.09 | 0.34 | 0.42 | 0.32 | 0.74 | 0.76 | 1.08 |
| Viktor Hovland | 12 | 1.06 | 0.86 | 1.92 | -0.35 | -0.53 | -0.88 | 1.57 | 1.03 |
TPC River Highlands is one of the shortest courses the PGA Tour stops at every year, so it’s not surprising to see Brian Harman’s name appear on this list.
Harman hasn’t been inside of the top 100 for driving distance on the PGA Tour since 2018, but with that not a prerequisite at this event it’s been all Harman all the time.
The American has five top 10s in his last six Travelers Championships.
According to RickRunGood.com, TPC River Highlands has been the second best course for Harman in his career, slightly trailing the success he has had at the Pete Dye Stadium Course in the American Express.
SIGNATURE EVENTS STUDS
As I pointed out earlier, this is year two of the PGA Tour's signature/elevated event series.
Here is a list of the best players in those events in 2023.
SIGNATURE EVENTS STUDS (2023)
| GOLFER | RDs | OTT | APP | BS | ARG | PUTT | SG | T2G | TOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Cantlay | 38 | 0.88 | 0.59 | 1.48 | 0.27 | 0.21 | 0.47 | 1.74 | 1.94 |
| Wyndham Clark | 32 | 0.15 | 0.9 | 1.05 | 0.15 | 0.52 | 0.68 | 1.2 | 1.73 |
| Denny McCarthy | 29 | 0.1 | 0.23 | 0.34 | 0.24 | 1.06 | 1.3 | 0.58 | 1.64 |
| Xander Schauffele | 39 | 0.1 | 0.85 | 0.95 | 0.05 | 0.61 | 0.66 | 0.98 | 1.59 |
| Rickie Fowler | 35 | -0.04 | 0.69 | 0.65 | 0.28 | 0.62 | 0.89 | 0.92 | 1.54 |
| Rory McIlroy | 33 | 0.7 | 0.47 | 1.17 | 0.43 | -0.15 | 0.28 | 1.6 | 1.45 |
| Jordan Spieth | 31 | 0.1 | 0.74 | 0.84 | 0.53 | 0.02 | 0.55 | 1.41 | 1.43 |
| Jason Day | 29 | 0.47 | 0.06 | 0.53 | 0.26 | 0.6 | 0.86 | 0.79 | 1.39 |
| Ludvig Aberg | 8 | 0.51 | -0.3 | 0.21 | 0.3 | 0.76 | 1.06 | 0.51 | 1.27 |
| Max Homa | 31 | 0.09 | 0.43 | 0.53 | 0.07 | 0.68 | 0.74 | 0.58 | 1.26 |
| Sungjae Im | 39 | 0.43 | 0.32 | 0.75 | 0.22 | 0.29 | 0.52 | 0.96 | 1.26 |
| Justin Thomas | 34 | 0.34 | 0.65 | 1 | 0.4 | -0.16 | 0.24 | 1.39 | 1.23 |
| Tony Finau | 35 | 0.3 | 0.89 | 1.18 | -0.02 | 0.06 | 0.04 | 1.16 | 1.22 |
And here is that same list for 2024 (Sentry, Pebble Beach, Genesis, API, RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo, Memorial).
SIGNATURE EVENT STUDS (2024)
| GOLFER | RDs | OTT | APP | BS | ARG | PUTT | SG | T2G | TOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | 23 | 0.72 | 1.47 | 2.18 | 0.46 | 0 | 0.46 | 2.65 | 2.59 |
| Xander Schauffele | 27 | 0.6 | 0.36 | 0.96 | 0.07 | 0.55 | 0.62 | 1.03 | 1.47 |
| Collin Morikawa | 25 | 0.43 | 0.32 | 0.75 | 0.18 | 0.33 | 0.51 | 0.93 | 1.24 |
| Jason Day | 27 | 0.04 | -0.12 | -0.08 | 0.4 | 0.69 | 1.09 | 0.32 | 1.02 |
| Rory McIlroy | 23 | 0.9 | -0.14 | 0.76 | 0.13 | 0.19 | 0.33 | 0.89 | 1.01 |
| Sahith Theegala | 27 | 0.35 | 0.32 | 0.67 | -0.06 | 0.41 | 0.35 | 0.61 | 0.99 |
| Ludvig Åberg | 23 | 0.21 | 0.15 | 0.36 | 0.18 | 0.3 | 0.48 | 0.53 | 0.9 |
| Sungjae Im | 27 | 0.23 | -0.1 | 0.13 | 0.31 | 0.67 | 0.98 | 0.44 | 0.88 |
| Wyndham Clark | 23 | 0.57 | 0.09 | 0.66 | 0.05 | 0.26 | 0.32 | 0.71 | 0.86 |
| Patrick Cantlay | 25 | 0.04 | 0.16 | 0.2 | 0.06 | 0.38 | 0.43 | 0.26 | 0.86 |
Collin Morikawa has been one of the best players in the world in 2024. He has missed just two cuts this year and enters this event with four straight top-20 finishes.
In the seven signature events, he’s finished better than 16th in six of them.
The American also ranks 10th on the PGA Tour this year in birdie or better percentage, and will need to make good on that this week if he wants to contend with the winning score expected to be in the high teens/low 20s.
BEST IN THE FIELD
If course history and recent form in signature events isn’t your cup of tea, allow me to present the 10 best players in this field for 2024 according to the strokes gained data.
BEST IN THE FIELD
| GOLFER | RDs | OTT | APP | BS | ARG | PUTT | SG | T2G | TOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | 55 | 0.83 | 1.44 | 2.27 | 0.54 | 0.02 | 0.56 | 2.81 | 2.75 |
| Xander Schauffele | 56 | 0.61 | 0.81 | 1.43 | 0.37 | 0.58 | 0.95 | 1.8 | 2.21 |
| Rory McIlroy | 60 | 0.97 | 0.54 | 1.52 | 0.21 | 0.32 | 0.53 | 1.73 | 1.99 |
| Ludvig Åberg | 49 | 0.62 | 0.57 | 1.18 | -0.09 | 0.41 | 0.32 | 1.09 | 1.52 |
| Christiaan Bezuidenhout | 73 | -0.19 | 0.48 | 0.29 | 0.19 | 0.69 | 0.88 | 0.48 | 1.45 |
| Collin Morikawa | 52 | 0.52 | 0.35 | 0.88 | 0.37 | 0.16 | 0.53 | 1.24 | 1.39 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 51 | 0.24 | 0.42 | 0.66 | 0.76 | -0.13 | 0.63 | 1.43 | 1.22 |
| Adam Scott | 59 | 0.35 | 0.24 | 0.59 | -0.04 | 0.31 | 0.28 | 0.56 | 1.12 |
| Billy Horschel | 54 | 0.12 | -0.07 | 0.06 | 0.19 | 0.73 | 0.91 | 0.24 | 1.11 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | 57 | 0.26 | 0.13 | 0.39 | 0.36 | 0.23 | 0.59 | 0.75 | 1.09 |
First Click
My first click this week will be Viktor Hovland at 20-1 in the outright market.
Hovland’s short game struggles were once again exposed last week at the U.S. Open. Even when he was playing the best golf of his career, Pinehurst probably wouldn’t be the best fit for Hovland due to the amount of creativity needed around the greens.
Also, the missed cut isn’t as bad as it looks. Hovland struggled on Thursday across his entire bag, but on Friday he was second in the field on approach and was just one of 18 players to gain more than a stroke putting.
Hovland and swing coach Joe Mayo reunited a few weeks ago after splitting during the winter, and the instant results were great with a solo third at the PGA Championship and a top 20 at Memorial.
No player in this field has been better on courses shorter than 7,000 yards in their career than Hovland, according to RickRunGood.com.
Vik is my guy, and has been for four years. Let’s see if he has another winner in store for us this week.