DFS Dish: Look to defending champ to star again at Travelers Championship

After three weeks on courses where the winning score reached double digits under par exactly once, the Travelers Championship will provide the setting to get back to making birdies and posting low numbers.

TPC River Highlands, the host of the Travelers since 1984, will provide a welcome exhale after the third major championship of the season. Playing just 6,835 yards, the par-70 track has produced winning totals of 23-under and 19-under par over the last two editions.

Over recent years, the parkland design, first designed by Pete Dye and then updated by Bobby Weed, has not favored a particular style or player.

Stars, bombers, plodders and journeymen have all raised the trophy here in the last decade.

Local hero Keegan Bradley roasted TPC River Highlands last year. Setting the course record of 23-under 257, the Vermont native returns to defend the title.

DraftKings – Top of the board

Scottie Scheffler ($12,500): Not even four rounds of 71 or worse can knock the Texan out of the top spot! TPC River Highlands will provide a different test this week off the tees and into the greens. The traditional parkland layout is protected by 4 inches of rough off the fairway and closely mown areas around the greens. I would be surprised if the five-time winner this season has another week struggling off the tee (T59 Fairways last week) and on Bent/Poa greens (70th Strokes Gained: Putting of 74 players making the cut). In his last six rounds at TPC River Highlands, he’s posted two rounds of 63 and two rounds of 65.

Xander Schauffele ($11,200): Sitting second at the top of the DraftKings salary rankings, following the withdrawal Monday of Rory McIlroy ($11,500), the Californian has turned the corner over his last three TOUR events. Winning the PGA Championship in May, he checked the two biggest questions off the list. Picking up top-10 paydays at the Memorial Tournament and U.S. Open added confirmation that he is not satisfied. The 2022 winner at the Travelers, he’s never finished outside of T20 when making the cut four times in five tries.

Overvalued or undervalued?

Tony Finau ($8,900): Posting three rounds in the 60s at Pinehurst for a share of third place, the big hitter ran his streak of cuts made to eight and run of T18 or better to four. Sitting in the top five in SG: Tee to Green and SG: Approach, there’s plenty of value here.

Brian Harman ($8,300): Making his 14th start, the reigning Open champion has feasted just outside New York City. Cashing 11 times, he’s found the top 10 six times in his last nine visits, including five of the six years. Cashing on the weekend in his last six on TOUR, including T21 at Pinehurst, he looks to return to the top 10 for the first time since T2 at THE PLAYERS Championship.

Wyndham Clark ($7,700): Just beat out Max Homa ($7,800) for the final spot on this list. Newer players will see this value for a major champion who made the cut last week, but recent results suggest even this price might be too high. After reaching the podium with T3 at the RBC Heritage, the 2023 U.S. Open winner has missed two weekends from four and added nothing inside the top 45.

Makers or breakers

Patrick Cantlay ($9,600): Feasting on the small greens at Harbour Town and TPC River Highlands over the years, the Californian will be in the spotlight again this week. Coming off T3, his best finish at a U.S. Open, he was excellent throughout the bag. Ownership on a course where he has cashed T15 or better in his last six visits, will be high.

Viktor Hovland ($9,300): On a week where 17-under or better is usually required to lift the trophy, the 2023 FedExCup champion has struggled for most of the season to hold it together for four straight rounds. Rested after missing the weekend at the U.S. Open, investors would prefer more of the Friday 68 than the Thursday 78 from last week.

Keegan Bradley ($8,700): Setting the tournament scoring record on 23-under 257 last year, the local hero will need another big performance to contend this year. The runner-up in 2019 missed the cut twice before cashing T19 in 2022 and winning last year. Thin margins!

Michael Thorbjornsen ($6,500): Surprising everyone with T4 as an amateur in the 2022 edition, the Wellesley, Massachusetts, native and recent Stanford graduate earned a sponsor exemption for this no-cut event. The No. 1 player in the PGA TOUR University standings kicks off his professional career this week.

The lineup

Here’s a look at how I would devise a six-team roster this week while staying below the $50,000 salary cap offered for DraftKings contests:

• Tony Finau ($8,900)
• Keegan Bradley ($8,700)
• Russell Henley ($8,600)
• Brian Harman ($8,300)
• Sepp Straka ($7,900)
• Byeong Hun An ($7,600)

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