With the U.S. Open behind us, the PGA Tour now turns its heads to the Travelers Championship odds at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut.
From Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy to Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele, the field this week is strong with many gearing up for the season's final major — The Open Championship — just a few short weeks away.
We break down the field, including a favorite, a sleeper, and a longshot worth backing when things tee up on Thursday, June 23.
Travelers Championship outright picks
Picks were made on 6/21/2022 at 10:00 a.m. ET.
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Travelers Championship outright picks
Among the favorites: Patrick Cantlay (+1,600)
Patrick Cantlay's major championship resume leaves a lot to be desired. In 2022, that's manifested itself in the form of a T39 at Augusta National, a missed cut at Southern Hills, and a T14 finish at Brookline last week — his best major finish since 2019.
However, as far as non-major performers go, few have been better in 2022. He consistently finds his way into weekend contention, as evidenced by the six finishes of T4 or better he's posted this season, including a couple of runner-ups (both playoff losses) and a dominant win at the Zurich Classic alongside Xander Schauffele (for what it's worth).
While not being what it was during last year's red-hot FedEx Cup Playoff run, his statistical resume still shows off the all-around game Cantlay possesses: 14th in total strokes gained, 18th off the tee, 33rd in putting, and no major strokes gained category worse than 61st (approach).
More specifically, Cantlay ranks sixth in birdie average this season (4.38 per round). That's critical at TPC River Highlands, a track that presents a ton of great scoring opportunities and often has a winning score in the 15-under range.
Speaking of TPC River Highlands, Cantlay's tournament history also stands outs, having posted four straight Top-15 finishes here with his personal best being a T11 in 2020.
I can't and won't talk you out of betting Scottie, Rory, or JT this week, but it feels like a matter of when, not if, Cantlay wins this tournament. You're also getting him at much better odds.
Sleeper to watch: Sungjae Im (+3,200)
Let's talk about out of the PGA Tour's certified grinders, Sungjae Im.
He's made just two largely unimpressive starts here at the Travelers (personal-best T21 in 2019), but that's not why I'm interested in him this week. Rather, it's his form.
Prior to his missed weekend at Brookline, Sungjae was on a run. That started with a T8 at Augusta National and continued with finishes of T21, T14, T15, and T10 taking him into the U.S. Open, where he uncharacteristically lost nearly a stroke per round on approach. I'm choosing to put that aside.
Statistically, he ranks 12th in strokes gained off the tee, ninth from tee to green, and fifth around the green. More importantly, he ranks second on Tour in Par-4 scoring, a mark that will be extra critical with TPC River Highlands playing as a Par 70 with two extra Par 4s.
Sungjae has an uncanny ability to pile up birdies in bunches and go super low. This feels like a week where that will play into his hands, especially given his form of late.
Longshot worth a look: Brian Harman (+5,000)
Death, taxes, and backing Brian Harman on the Tour's shortest courses.
Considering Brian Harman's distance or lack thereof, there are only a handful of stops on the Tour schedule that allow him to truly be in the mix and contend — TPC River Highlands is one of those stops and his history here backs it up.
Four finishes of T8 or better in just his last seven starts here, including a T5 here a year ago a personal-best solo-third in 2015. In those four starts, he gained strokes off the tee in three of them while also dominating with his putter (+1.69, +0.94, +2.16, +0.75 strokes gained putting per round in those four starts).
His recent form is less inspiring, but this is as good of an opportunity as the 35-year-old will get. Back him at 50/1.
