This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Travelers Championship
Cromwell, Connecticut
TPC River Highlands - Par 70 - 6,852 yards
Field - 156 entrants
Purse - $8.3M
The Preview
Matt Fitzpatrick finally broke through for his first professional win in the United States last week, and it came on a massive stage at the nation's championship hosted by The Country Club in Brookline, where he'd previously emerged victorious at the U.S. Amateur. Fitzpatrick's heroics en route to permanent glory came at the expense of Will Zalatoris, who's now placed runner-up in three of seven major appearances since the 2021 Masters. The post-major blues don't necessarily have to linger for the rest of us, however, as an entertainingly strong field makes the short trip to Cromwell for the Travelers Championship where four of the top six players in the world plan to tee it up.
Connecticut's TPC River Highlands is an extremely short par-70 track with classic tree-lined fairways guiding players to some of the smaller greens we'll see on Tour, but three of the past four champions have still managed to reach at least 17-under-par despite only two par-5s appearing on the scorecard. Full wedges and short irons are the name of the game this week, as 10 par-4s measure under 445 yards. As for the weather, precipitation in the days leading up to the tournament should help thicken the already penal rough, placing even more of an emphasis on driving accuracy and wedge/iron proximity.
Recent Champions
2021 - Harris English
2020 - Dustin Johnson
2019 - Chez Reavie
2018 - Bubba Watson
2017 - Jordan Spieth
2016 - Russell Knox
2015 - Bubba Watson
2014 - Kevin Streelman
2013 - Ken Duke
2012 - Marc Leishman
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Proximity: 100-175 yards
Par-4: 400-450 efficiency
Birdie average
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Scottie Scheffler - $48
Scheffler fell one stroke shy of forcing a playoff with the aforementioned Fitzpatrick last week at The Country Club, but the former paced the entire U.S. Open field in ball striking on the way to his podium finish. The world No. 1 ranks second in SG: Approach, second in P4: 400-450 efficiency and second in Birdie or Better percentage over his past 24 measured rounds, while he's also sixth in proximity from 125-150 yards during this stretch.
Justin Thomas - $47
Notching a T3 here back in 2016, Thomas owns just one top-10 result in seven career trips to the Travelers Championship, but he sets up extremely well this week if he can keep the ball in the short grass off the tee. Thomas is top-10 among his peers in SG: APP, SG: Putting, Prox: 100-125, Prox: 150-175 and BOB percentage over his last 24 measured rounds. He just ranked eighth at the U.S. Open in SG: APP, but a T37 on the overall leaderboard combined with an underwhelming track record in Cromwell should help reduce his rostership from last week's levels.
Glue Guys
Harold Varner III - $36
While the likes of Keegan Bradley, Aaron Wise, Mito Pereira and Seamus Power all pick up steam in the loaded $36-$37 range, this feels like a great spot to go back to a possibly overlooked Varner after he missed the cut in Brookline. Although he was sent packing after 36 holes, Varner still gained two strokes on his approach shots at the U.S. Open, and he's also third in SG: APP and 14th in Birdie or Better percentage over his last 24 measured rounds. He went a combined 19-under-par over the past three years at TPC River Highlands, posting three consecutive top-50s in the process.
Davis Riley - $33
Riley finally broke his streak of five straight top-15 finishes, but a T31 at the U.S. Open was still an admirable result for the rookie, and he even ranked seventh among the field in SG: Approach at The Country Club. He's second to none in this metric over his last 12 measured rounds, and Riley ranks top-10 on the PGA Tour in both total driving and birdie average this season.
Bargain Bin
Brendan Steele - $28
Steele has placed T25 or better in seven of his last nine outings at TPC River Highlands, which includes a T6 here in 2020 when he averaged just 27.3 putts per round en route to 25 total birdies. Steele is now No. 1 in SG: Off-the-Tee, 10th in SG: Approach and 12th in proximity from 150-175 yards over his last 24 measured rounds, which has led to six consecutive cuts made from the Arnold Palmer Invitational through the Memorial Tournament. Prior to his T10 at Muirfield Village, Steele gained 10.6 strokes from tee to green on the way to a T9 finish at the PGA Championship.
C.T. Pan - $23
Pan has gained strokes with his irons in nine consecutive events dating back to late February's Honda Classic, missing just one cut at the volatile PLAYERS Championship during this span, but he's also 16th in P4: 400-450 efficiency over his last 24 rounds. Pan's Travelers Championship resume is a mixed bag with missed cuts in half of his six career appearances in Cromwell, though he flashed upside with a T8 here in 2017.
