Weekly Fantasy Golf Preview: Travelers Championship

This article is part of our Weekly Fantasy Golf Preview series.

Travelers Championship

TPC River Highlands
Cromwell, CT

The PGA Tour heads to Cromwell, CT for another edition of the Travelers Championship.

Where to start? When play began on Sunday, it looked like the last man standing would win. No one was making shots, all the leaders were stumbling over themselves, it was really tough to watch. The U.S. Open is usually interesting because it tests the best golfers in ways we aren't used to seeing, but the problem we had Sunday was that the best golfers were nowhere near the lead, it was a bunch of guys that had never won a major, and Adam Scott, and no one looked like a professional golfer. My fear was that we'd see terrible golf the entire day and someone would simply win because they ran out of holes and chances to make more bogeys. Fortunately, that's not how this U.S. Open ended, thanks to J.J. Spaun.

Spaun was the poster child for bad breaks early in the round and if not for the weather delay, perhaps things would have been different, but credit to Spaun, he didn't let those early bad breaks ruin his entire round. While Spaun and Robert MacIntyre were charging towards the finish, everyone else was stumbling over their own feet. Sam Burns let a tough ruling snowball, Adam Scott couldn't get on track and Viktor Hovland just couldn't make a shot, until the 71st-hole…when it was too late. Hovland didn't play poorly on Sunday, he just didn't do anything well. He had chances, but couldn't stick his approaches or make a putt, it was a very frustrating day for those rooting for Hovland.

Spaun was the victor however and he did much more than just survive, he went out and won the damn thing. I wonder where he goes from here. Spaun has shown flashes over his long career, but he's never had much in the way of consistency. If I had to guess, I would say that this will probably be his only major win, but who knows, he has been known to go on hot streaks, so maybe somewhere down the line he pulls off another improbable win. Even if he doesn't, he'll always have this win and he'll always be a major champion.

Okay, enough about the U.S. Open, this week we have the Travelers Championship, the final signature event of the season. We're at the TPC River Highlands again, so we've got a ton of course history in play this week.

For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, tournament participation and overall golfer performance, head to RotoWire's latest golf news or follow @RotoWireGolf on X.

LAST YEAR

Scottie Scheffler shot a final-round 65 on his way to a playoff win over Tom Kim.

FAVORITES

All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 3:00 PM ET Tuesday.

Scottie Scheffler (+280) 

It's interesting that Scheffler's odds are higher this week than they were this past week. I don't quite understand that unless they feel he'll have a bit of a hangover after a tough week at Oakmont. Scheffler won this event this past year and his form, while not his best, is certainly good enough to win this week. As long as he's locked in on the task at hand, I see no reason why he won't be in contention come Sunday.

Rory McIlroy (12-1)

Is Rory back after a solid final round at the U.S. Open? It's hard to say, but it was revealed that he's been dealing with a motivational issue since wrapping up the career grand slam at Augusta. If that's the case, how can we expect him to be focused on this event, when the Open Championship is right around the corner? I like what we saw on Sunday, but I can't trust him in this spot right now.   

Collin Morikawa (18-1)

Morikawa continues to be included in the group of favorites nearly every week, but he's not winning. His odds this week are deserving of someone that's won recently, but as we all know, that's not Morikawa. The weird thing is, his track record here isn't even that good, so I'm not sure what's driving this number. He had his moments this past week at Oakmont, but in all honesty, that shouldn't have much impact on what happens this week as this course will in no way resemble Oakmont.   

Visit our golf betting section for the latest PGA odds and finishing props from multiple sportsbooks.

THE NEXT TIER

Patrick Cantlay (22-1)

Like Morikawa, Cantlay also has a winning problem lately, but both are no strangers to the winner's circle, so a win could come at any time. The biggest difference between the two, outside of the odds, which favor Cantlay, is that Cantlay has a great track record here. He's finished inside the top-5 the past two years here and he's recorded an incredible seven consecutive top-15s at this event.

Justin Thomas (30-1)

One thing I'm doing this week is tossing out just about everything that happened last week. Oakmont is a beast and that game they were playing is nothing like what they'll play at TPC River Highlands, so I really don't care how much any one of these guys struggled. JT didn't get off to a good start at this event, but he's turned it around the past two years, with top-10s in each of his past two starts here.

Viktor Hovland (30-1)   

While I'm throwing out most of the play from last week, what could be a factor is the hangover effect. With that said, I don't see Hovland as a guy who takes things too hard and while he was in position to win, he was never in the lead, so it's not like he let anything slip away. As for this week, while I'm willing to throw out bad performances, I do think you can take something out of a positive performance as you had to be locked into your game to contend at Oakmont. While Hovland couldn't get over the hump a week ago, he did play pretty well for most of the tournament. That should carry over to the Travelers.

Looking to place a bet for this week's PGA Tour event? Check out the best golf betting sites, featuring comprehensive sportsbook reviews and a summary of new customer bonus offers.

LONG SHOTS

Shane Lowry (45-1)      

Continuing the theme of throwing out poor performances from Oakmont...we take a look at Shane Lowry, who had one of the worst performances at the U.S. Open, which was a bit of a surprise considering how well he played there during the previous open at Oakmont. Anyhow, Lowry probably can't wait to get going this week as he needs to flush the memory of Thursday/Friday out of his mind. Lowry's track record is great here, but he has posted top-20s in his past two starts here.   

Cameron Young (50-1)

Young has had a tough time getting going over the past couple years, but perhaps his performance at the U.S. Open will get him back on track. Young has always looked the part on the golf course, but for whatever reason, he's failed to live up to his potential. Maybe contending at a major will be the spark he needs to get back to where he was a couple years ago. As for this week, he posted a top-10 here a yearo ago, so if he can bring any momentum in from Oakmont, he should have another solid showing.

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-Chosen Pick: Patrick Cantlay – Cantlay has not had a great season, so he's probably still available on many OAD teams. I can't imagine many OAD teams have Scheffler available and any with McIlroy probably wouldn't want to use him this week, so it'll likely be a bunch of Cantlay's and Morikawa's. Of the two, I'd side with Cantlay this week who has the better track record here.          

Moderately-Chosen Pick:  Viktor Hovland – With many of the top players unavailable to OAD players this week, Hovland is bound to get some attention after his 3rd-place showing at the U.S. Open. The only worry about Hovland this week is the major hangover, but as mentioned earlier, I think he'll be able to handle that and focus on the final signature event of the season.      

Lightly-Chosen Pick: Cameron Young – As mentioned earlier, Young has struggled to live up to the hype over the past couple seasons so he's probably someone who is available on a lot of OAD teams. Though he's available, most OAD players probably aren't willing to use him in a signature event, especially the final signature event of the season. That means that this is a great opportunity to gain ground on your competition if he happens to play well this week.            

Buyer Beware: J.J. Spaun – This seems like low-hanging fruit, but I just don't see how Spaun can come back and play well just a few days after the biggest win of his career. This isn't a knock on his mental capabilities, I'm just being realistic here. Spaun has never shown must consistency throughout his career, which means he'd normally have trouble backing-up a strong showing, but add to that, he won a major and somehow has to get his head clear in a matter of a few days? Yeah, his prospects don't look good this week.

My Pick: Cameron Young – We've all seen how good Young can be when he's on and I think he's getting back into that form. It's a bit of a reach to use Young in a signature event, but I doubt many OAD players will have him this week, so if he hits, it should result in a big jump in the standings. Young finished in the top-10 here this past year, so if he happens to play anything like he did at Oakmont, he should be in the mix come Sunday.

Previous Results

View the PGA earnings report to find total winnings and winnings per entry via our fantasy golf stats pages.

FANDUEL PICKS

Upper Range: Scottie Scheffler ($13,600)
Middle Range:  Cameron Young ($10,200)
Lower Range: Tom Kim ($7,900)

SURVIVOR LEAGUES

My Pick: No cut this week