This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Travelers Championship
Cromwell, Connecticut
TPC River Highlands - Par 70 - 6,844 yards
Field - 72 entrants
Purse - $20M
The Preview
A rainy day in Pittsburgh couldn't stop J.J. Spaun from producing the greatest moment of his career, and an exhilarating finish to Sunday's action at Oakmont where he buried a nearly 65-foot birdie putt for a major championship victory in walk-off fashion. But there's no time for rest between the U.S. Open and the PGA Tour's final Signature Event of the season, however, as a loaded field charters its way farther east for the Travelers Championship and its $20 million purse.
Designed by Pete Dye, Connecticut's TPC River Highlands is an extremely short par-70 track with classic tree-lined fairways surrounded by penal rough. A slew of doglegs guide players to some of the smallest greens we'll see on Tour, though each of the past two champions managed to blow by the 20-under-par mark, 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 less than 445 yards. Aside from the possibility for light rain showers during Thursday's opening round, weather conditions appear favorable for scoring throughout the week.
Recent Champions
2024 - Scottie Scheffler
2023 - Keegan Bradley
2022 - Xander Schauffele
2021 - Harris English
2020 - Dustin Johnson
2019 - Chez Reavie
2018 - Bubba Watson
2017 - Jordan Spieth
2016 - Russell Knox
2015 - Bubba Watson
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Proximity: 75-175 yards
Par-4 Scoring
Birdie or Better Percentage
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Scottie Scheffler - $45
The World No. 1 remains a free square on Yahoo until the maximum salary is raised by at least $10, which probably isn't going to happen this season. Scheffler also happens to be the defending champion here, and he's gained at least 8.4 strokes from tee to green in three consecutive trips to Cromwell.
Xander Schauffele - $44
Schauffele's main concern right now is driving accuracy, but he'll be able to club down off the tee often at TPC River Highlands where he won back in 2022. He just gained 7.2 strokes from tee to green en route to a T12 at the U.S. Open, and I'm willing to fade the more-expensive Rory McIlroy ($45) in favor of Schauffele.
Collin Morikawa - $44
Given the no-cut structure of this Signature Event, it's especially easy to build stars-and-scrubs lineups, which allows us to fit Morikawa into Scheffler-Schauffele stacks up top. We might get a slight ownership dip on Morikawa as a bonus, given he's yet to place top-10 through four career Travelers Championship appearances, and he's failed to finish top-15 in five straight individual starts dating back to the RBC Heritage. However, he just paced the U.S. Open field in SG: Approach, and he's third in Opportunities Gained over his past 24 rounds.
Glue Guys
Patrick Cantlay - $32
This is a blatant misprice on a horse for the course, who's racked up seven consecutive top-15s at TPC River Highlands since 2018. Despite a missed cut at the U.S. Open last week, expect Cantlay to be a popular piece in more balanced builds that don't skip the $30s.
Sam Burns - $31
Similarly head-scratching in the low-$30s, Burns began his month of June with a 2-T7 stretch at the RBC Canadian Open and the U.S. Open. Not only does his putter remain red hot, but Burns has also found something with his irons, gaining nearly 13 collective strokes on approach over his last 12 rounds.
Bargain Bin
Jordan Spieth - $22
Spieth posted the third-best SG: APP performance of his entire career last week at Oakmont, and he's now gained an average of 6.5 strokes from tee to green per event throughout his last three starts. He won the Travelers Championship back in 2017, and he's top-10 in both Prox: 75-100 and Prox: 125-150 over his past 12 rounds.
Cameron Young- $20
Coming off back-to-back T4 finishes at a couple national opens, Young is finally finding his groove again both off the tee and with the flat stick. There's still plenty of room for improvement with his approach play, but he'll be a popular punt option this week at TPC River Highlands where he tied for ninth last year.
Si Woo Kim - $20
A short and accurate ball-striker with a streaky putter, Kim owns one of the better course-fit profiles down here at the minimum salary, especially considering his lofty ceiling as a four-time winner on the PGA Tour. Over his last 24 rounds, he's 11th in SG: APP and 13th in Prox: 75-100 yards.
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