Sunday Story-Lines: Travelers Championship set to culminate in big name shootout

Cream has risen to the top at TPC River Highlands as a host of big names are set for a Sunday showdown for the final Signature Event of the season at the Travelers Championship.

Early pace-setter Tom Kim continued to play great golf and adds the 54-hole lead to his 18 and 36-hole leads this week. It was +900 for a wire-to-wire winner this week via DraftKings at the start of the tournament and Kim might have a few bettors hoping he keeps the pedal down one more day.

Kim fired a 5-under 65 to move to 18-under for the week, alone at the top of the leaderboard and one ahead of Scottie Scheffler and Akshay Bhatia.

A late blitz from World No. 1 Scheffler, which saw four consecutive birdies to finish his round of 64, has the Texan eyeing off a sixth win of the season as the betting favorite with a round to go.

Scheffler is now +150 to be the first player since Tiger Woods in 2009 to notch up six wins in a PGA TOUR season.

Bhatia birdied the final two holes to also post a 64 on Saturday, giving the pre-tournament longshot a real chance at a third TOUR win.

PGA Champion Xander Schauffele surged into the lead with three birdies in a row in the middle of the back nine before cooling off. A last-hole bogey could prove pivotal as it dropped him to 16-under and two back.

He’s joined at 16-under by Sungjae Im while Collin Morikawa is sixth at 15-under.

Here is a quick look at the latest odds and storylines heading to Sunday with my draws and fades below.

• +150: Scottie Scheffler (-17, T2) – With a win the World No. 1 would make it six on the season and 12 in his career. Last player to have six or more wins in a TOUR season was Tiger Woods (6) in 2009.
• +333: Tom Kim (-18, 1st) – Led after 18, 36 and now 54 holes. Three-time TOUR winner turned 22 this week and looking to be the first South Korean to win the Travelers Championship. Sits 61st in FedExCup looking to secure Playoffs this week.
• +550: Xander Schauffele (-16, T4) – Chasing ninth PGA TOUR win, and second this season after his PGA Championship victory. Was Travelers champion in 2022 and leads the field in SG: Putting.
• +700: Akshay Bhatia (-17, T2) – An 80/1 longshot pre-tournament showing he belongs. Seeking a third TOUR win, a second this season after winning the Valero Texas Open.
• +1200: Sungjae Im (-16, T4) – Like Tom Kim, looking to be the first Korean to win the Travelers. Two-time TOUR winner but not since the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open. Second this week in Par 4 Scoring.
• +1400: Collin Morikawa (-15, 6th) – Hunting TOUR win No. 7, a first since the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP last October. His last eight starts all top-25s including four top-4s.
• +4000: Tony Finau (-14, T7) – Hoping for lucky TOUR win no. 7 on Sunday, Finau leads the field in Par 5 Scoring and Sand Saves.
• +5000: Justin Thomas (-14, T7) – Last of his 15 TOUR wins came at the 2022 PGA Championship, over two years ago. Tied the hottest player on the Back 9 this week and leads Driving Distance.
• +6600: Shane Lowry (-14, T7) – Former Open Champion won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Rory McIlroy but now chases a solo win. Third in SG: Tee-to-Green, fourth SG: Approach and fourth SG: Around the Green this week
• +8000: Patrick Cantlay (-13, T10) – Shot 60 as an amateur at TPC River Highlands and might need to do so again to get ninth TOUR win and first since 2022 BMW Championship.
• +10000: Cameron Young (-13, T10) – Rocketed into contention after an 11-under 59 in the third round. Just the 12th golfer to shoot sub-60 on the PGA TOUR. Still pining for a maiden TOUR win.

Draws

Xander Schauffele +550

Call me crazy but I am going back to the well on the man I picked pre-tournament and again after the second round. While his final hole bogey was far from a huge confidence booster and puts him behind Scheffler instead of on level pegging with him, it might be just the kick in the backside Schauffele needs. He thrives on people discounting him and his recent PGA Championship victory expelled any personal doubts. Schauffele is the value on the board as a former champion at TPC River Highlands AND as the leader in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting.

Akshay Bhatia, Sungjae Im, Collin Morikawa are all value bets in this situation also if you don’t love Schauffele. The fact Scheffler is in the final group has inflated the odds of others and given you a chance to take a calculated risk in a birdie fest. I’ve liked Bhatia all week and expect he can hold a place in the top five, Im has come from the clouds with an all-around game this week and Morikawa has been in exceptional form of late without winning. My lone concern with Morikawa is he will need to make all his putts on Sunday to make up his deficit. Remember also, six of the last eight champions here have come from the final group on Sunday. That puts another check in the Bhatia column.

Fade

Scottie Scheffler +150

Do I think Scheffler can’t win the Travelers Championship… of course not. He is the favorite for a reason and his finish of four straight birdies after a bogey was befitting of the best player in the world on Saturday. But I don’t like +150 in a shootout where putting will be the key down the stretch. If Schauffele, or someone else, can set a pace early and place the pressure on the greens for the final group then the odds become dangerous around Scheffler. Yes, you’re getting plus money when you might normally get negative odds, but it just feels like a trap play. I’ll eat my words, like I have many times with Scheffler before, if he pulls ahead and wins easily, but at the end of the day I’m trying to protect the bettors out there!