Horses for Courses: Scottie Scheffler leads several key stats for TPC River Highlands

The 73rd Travelers Championship kicks off the summer portion of the PGA TOUR season and ends the Signature Event series at eight.

Serving as host since 1984, TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, will welcome the Summer solstice with Round 1 on Thursday.

The stock par 70 (35-35) extends only to 6,835 yards and plays 17 yards shorter than the 2023 edition. Hole No. 9 was reduced from 406 yards to 389 yards this year. Additional changes include pinching landing areas in multiple fairways, creating new mounding on both par 5s, and reshaping the green at the par-3 11th.

After a week on Champion UltraDwarf Bermuda, the Connecticut layout presents a Bent/Poa mixture, the first of the season, on the 5,000-square-foot green complexes.

Sandy waste areas and extensive bunkering are replaced by Kentucky Bluegrass and Fescue off the fairways and closely mown areas around the greens. Water penalty areas are in play on five holes.

Keegan Bradley, the 2023 champion, highlights a field of 71 players competing for a prize pool of $20 million with $3.6 million, plus 700 FedExCup points, going home with the eighth and final winner of the Signature Events.

Rounds in the 60s

Players listed are in the field this week; 2024 season stats.

The winning score after the U.S. Open at TPC River Highlands averages around 17-under on the par-70 layout. Rounds of 70 or worse must be few and far between to win, let alone contend. Last year, TPC River Highlands played 68.400 with a field of 156 players and set the event record for scoring. None of the top 32 players on the leaderboard posted multiple rounds of 70 or better. During the 2022 edition, only one player (Rory McIlroy, WD Monday afternoon) in the top 24 posted two rounds of 70 or worse.

Vermont native Keegan Bradley (+5000) put the pedal to the metal last year to set the tournament scoring record on 23-under 257. Opening with 62, he followed with rounds of 63 and 64 to set the 54-hole scoring record by three shots. Leading by one in the final group, he ran his total to 26-under before squaring three of his four bogeys on the week on the last six holes. The 2019 runner-up posted four rounds in the 60s in 2022 for T19 and signed for 41 of 48 career rounds at 70 or better. Only one player this century has successfully defended the title (Phil Mickelson – not entered 2001 and 2002).

SG: Tee to Green

The last NINE winners have ranked in the top 10 on their way to lifting the trophy. Fairway widths have reduced to just 30 yards this week, and the green complexes rank in the top five smallest on TOUR. Stretching only 6,835 yards, playing from the fairway or the four inches plus of Kentucky Bluegrass and Fescue should be with more lofted clubs. TPC River Highlands has produced winners that bomb it for a living (Bubba Watson three times, Phil Mickelson twice and Dustin Johnson), tee-to-green tacticians (Russell Knox and Chez Reavie), and super putters (Xander Schauffele and Jordan Spieth). In a shootout, hitting more fairways should equal hitting more GIR. Birdie and eagle putts will then follow!

Xander Schauffele (+750) posted 19-under in 2022 to win by two shots in his fourth start. Defending the title last year, he shared 19th and continued his run of rounds in the 60s to nine straight. Over 18 career rounds, he posted 14 rounds in the 60s and just once above 70. All four-weekend results have collected T20 or better. During his victory, the recent PGA Championship winner led the field in GIR and Bogey Avoidance, squaring just three bogeys for the week.

Par-4 Scoring

Starting with the 2014 event, the winner either led or co-led the event in this category through the 2020 edition. The last three winners have ranked sixth, T4, and T10. In the previous decade, only one champion finished in the top 10 in Par-5 Scoring. The longest par 4s are just 481 and 462 yards with the other 10 checking in 444 yards or less. Almost every hole will present a reasonable chance at birdie, including the par 3s. The final piece of the puzzle will be holding a hot putter.

The winner from 2021, Harris English (+8000), has cashed in four straight and eight of 10 in his career. The four-time winner on TOUR joined Schauffele by posting T19 in defense. The other former Georgia Bulldog that should be on your radar this week is Brian Harman (+4000). Making the cut in 11 of 13 appearances, the left-hander shared second last year, his best finish of the bunch. The reigning Open Champion has surrounded a missed cut in the fall of 2020 with two top-10 paydays before and three top-10 results after. Add a solo third paycheck from 2015, and he’s cashed six of the last nine in the top 10.

Oddsmaker’s extras

Jordan Spieth (+5500): The only winner on debut this century, the Texan holed a dramatic bunker shot in a playoff in 2017 to pick up the trophy. Over his next four starts, he has missed the weekend twice and cashed T54 and T42.

Patrick Cantlay (+2000): The Californian jumped into the history books as an amateur in 2011. Posting 60 in Round 2, he set the course record until Jim Furyk shot 58 in 2016. Making the cut in his last six visits, all his paychecks have resulted in T15 or better, including T4 last year with a 61 in Round 3.

Scottie Scheffler (+350): Like his trajectory on TOUR, each year it gets better and better at TPC River Highlands. Missing the cut on 3-under in the fall of 2020, he has rattled off T47, T13 and T4 in 2023. Opening with 63 last year, he stumbled with a round of 70 on Friday before rebounding with 63-65 on the weekend. His 14 career rounds have produced five rounds of 65 or better.

Justin Thomas (+4000): Playing the event for the first time since 2020 last year, the two-time major champion signed for 62 in Round 3 and shared ninth. The 2016 tournament included another round of 62, this time in Round 4 resulting in T3. Making the cut just five times from eight visits, his next best payday is just T30.

The two men who shared second in the 2022 tournament, Sahith Theegala (+3300) and J.T. Poston (+8000) have been quiet in their other appearances. Theegala cashed T52 last year after missing the cut on his 2021 debut. Poston has missed the weekend on his other five visits. Careful!

-Odds courtesy of BetMGM-

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