Power Rankings: Travelers Championship

From golf in prime time to prime-time golf. That sums up the transition from the U.S. Open on the West Coast to the Travelers Championship in Connecticut. It concludes the series of Designated events.

For the 72 in the field of 156 of the Travelers who competed in the third major of the year, TPC River Highlands simply is the next stop on the schedule, but returning participants will be experiencing an additional conversion from the foreign to the familiar.

U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau, Max Homa and Justin Thomas will be among the notables reviewed in Golfbet Insider.

And so the Player Impact Program performers have arrived at the finish line within the finish line. Among the healthy of the 23 who have honored commitments to compete in the series of Designated events, only Sam Burns and Jordan Spieth are sitting out the Travelers. Tiger Woods (right ankle) and Will Zalatoris (back) remain on long-term mends from respective surgeries.

For the record and assuming none withdraws early, Patrick Cantlay, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Cameron Young will go into the books as having qualified for and competed in all Designated events and majors in 2023. Only Hovland has cashed in all.

Like those that preceded it, the Travelers boasts a record purse of $20 million. In addition to $3.6 million of that, the champion will bank 500 FedExCup points.

TPC River Highlands will present the same as it did a year ago. It’s a stock par 70 that tips at just 6,852 yards. The tallest of the bluegrass rough reaches four inches, while the greens averaging just 5,000 square feet are blanketed with Poa annua and prepped to run to a standard 12 feet on the Stimpmeter.

No matter the setup, weather, strength of field and all other variables unique to any edition, TPC River Highlands has averaged under par in five consecutive years. Last year’s field landed at 69.390. Finding fairways never hurts, but the primary objectives in all shootouts – and tournaments that can be – are hitting greens in regulation and converting those chances for par breakers.

That’s always easier written and said than done but guys don’t need to step on drivers this week. If undecided, perhaps respecting that TPC River Highlands annually ranks inside the toughest half of all courses in scrambling will tilt the balance. Its pair of par fives – Nos. 6 and 13 – are deceivingly challenging as a set as well, as they also are among the hardest sets among all courses. Bottom line, the vibe of central Connecticut as summer begins guarantees a timely soft landing after the stresses of last week.

There’s no marine layer to ease the test but clouds will be commonplace overhead. The opening round will be contested on what might be the only dry day of the tournament, too. Come Friday, an elevated threat of rain and boomers extends into next week. Daytime highs will land at around 80 degrees and wind shouldn’t be a factor.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled.

MONDAY: Power Rankings

TUESDAY*: Sleepers

WEDNESDAY: Golfbet Insider

SUNDAY: Payouts and Points, Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle

* - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.