2023 Travelers Championship Bets: Final Thoughts, Golf Betting Card, One And Done

The PGA TOUR returns east to Connecticut for the final Elevated Event of the 2023 season, which means it’s time for my Travelers Championship bets. As one of the shortest courses on the schedule, TPC River Highlands is still a stern test that will reward the best all-around players, distance aside. The Travelers Championship begins Thursday, with the PGA TOUR airing on on ESPN+ and Golf Channel with weekend coverage on CBS. As always, find odds for Travelers Championship bets at the best sports betting sites, as Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy face off in yet another top-heavy, big-purse event.

Now it’s time to get into my full betting card and final thoughts for the 2023 Travelers Championship. 

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HOW I BUILT MY TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP BETTING CARD

The Travelers Championship has typically been an event where surprise longshots have contended, with five of the last 10 winners opening at 50-1 odds or longer. This year, with an improved, elevated field, there’s more resistance at the top of the board. Kurt Kitayama and Wyndham Clark picked up their first career wins as longshots in elevated events, however, which goes to show there is still value in longshots despite the depth in this field. For my betting card, I build around a mix of elite names and longshots, sharing in common a prowess on comp, short and positional courses.

In terms of unit allocations for my card this week, it’s back to business as usual for my weekly PGA TOUR exposure:

• Outrights – 3U in to pay 24U each
• FRL – 0.5U in to pay out 10U+ each
• Props – 3U in to pay out 3U+ each

Click on any of the Travelers Championship odds below for the best available prices across sportsbooks in your state.

TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP BETS: OUTRIGHTS (3 UNITS)

Jon Rahm

My Bet: +1200
Best Available Odds:

I assumed I would not be able to fit Jon Rahm on my betting card before odds were released on Monday, expecting the top-10 U.S. Open finisher to slot into his usual place around 8-1 odds. While his resume at The Travelers is not tremendous (T37, T25, and T64), there is no such thing as a poor course fit for Jon Rahm.

As evidence, he’s No. 1 in my model this week, a model that heavily weights the importance of performance on comp short and positional courses, short par-4 scoring, and Proximity 125-175. One would think Jon Rahm is best suited to separate from the field on a long and challenging layout, and that is still true, but Rahm showed us with his win at The American Express earlier this season that he is just as capable of dominating on a short Pete Dye design as well.

I’m shocked to see Patrick Cantlay (who has never finished within five strokes of the winner at The Travelers) is a more popular bet this week than Rahm at the same odds, and with so many viable longshots in this field, this was an easy starting point to my betting card for the value.

Tommy Fleetwood

My Bet: +4000
Best Available Odds:

What we saw at Oakdale Golf & Country Club for the 2023 RBC Canadian Open is largely what we should expect again at TPC River Highlands. Both courses are short and positional, place an emphasis on hitting fairways with less than driver off the tee, feature many birdie holes that reward an aggressive style of play, and are okayed on the same northeast Bent & Poa-blended greens.

Fleetwood did everything but win at Oakdale two weeks ago, ultimately losing in a playoff to Nick Taylor, so I can’t help but feel encouraged about Fleetwood’s fit for TPC River Highlands following the events in Toronto. Following another T5 showing at the U.S. Open last week, Fleetwood’s game is firing on all cylinders with five top-20s over his last six starts. No. 10 overall in my model this week, Fleetwood continues to trend closer and closer to securing his first career PGA TOUR win.

Aaron Rai

My Bet: +15000
Best Available Odds:

This is not the section of this article I’m used to talking about Aaron Rai, but with irons that continue to trend among the best in this field (No. 10 in SG: APP), Rai has the game to contend at this venue. He impressed in his latest start at the RBC Canadian Open, finishing one stroke shy of the playoff, and marking the second event in his last three starts in which he’s gained 7+ strokes on approach. Also ranking top-10 in Fairways Gained, SG: Ball Striking, Prox: 125-175, and Par-4: 400-450, Rai is exactly the profile fit I’m looking for in a longshot contender.

Emiliano Grillo

My Bet: +17500
Best Available Odds:

Would it be crazy if Emiliano Grillo won for the second time in four starts? Sort of. But, the same could have been said about Wyndham Clark too before the U.S. Open. Grillo has always delivered his best results on positional courses where the top ball strikers can separate themselves. With newfound success on the greens in 2023, he should be able to channel a similar game plan as he executed at Colonial CC to attack TPC River Highlands.

Cam Davis

My Bet: +20000
Best Available Odds:

I have a rule with Cam Davis to only consider playing him on short and positional courses. It’s a little strange considering his elite Driving distance, but the stats back it up. Davis ranks No. 12 in Comp Course History and No. 23 in SG: T2G (<7,200 Yard Courses). Two of his three top-10 finishes this year have come on short Pete Dye courses (T6 at THE PLAYERS, T7 at the RBC Heritage). Both of those top-10s also came off of a missed cut in the week prior, so I’m not deterred by the recent poor play at the Memorial and U.S. Open.

Justin Suh

My Bet: +20000
Best Available Odds:

It seems at this point that Justin Suh will never lose strokes putting again, as he carries a streak of 10 straight events in which he’s gained 1+ stroke putting into the Travelers Championship. He’s missed just one cut in 2023 with some of his best results coming on comp positional courses (T6 at THE PLAYERS, T16 at the Charles Schwab Challenge). TPC River Highlands has been kind to the most skilled putters in the field as Harris English demonstrated with his 2021 win, so there’s plenty of room for optimism at this price.

TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST-ROUND LEADER BETS (0.5 UNITS)

Harris English

My Bet: +7000
Best Available Odds:

If you can lead this event through four rounds, I have some confidence you can pace the field for the low round on Thursday. The 2021 Travelers Champion has turned his 2023 season around lately with three top-12s over his last five starts. One of the streakiest putters in this field, he has what it takes to convert a high volume of birdie chances at TPC River Highlands.

Corey Conners

My Bet: +7500
Best Available Odds:

I love the course fit for Conners this week, and he was ultimately one of the last players taken off my betting card when deciding to go all in on Rahm. Conners’ class ball striking should continue to give him ample birdie looks at TPC River Highlands, and some recent improvements on the greens give him a higher FRL ceiling than ever before.

Keegan Bradley

My Bet: +8000
Best Available Odds:

Keegan Bradley is always an FRL consideration whenever he eclipses the 80-1 odds mark. Playing in front of a familiar New England home crowd, he should come out motivated to set the pace on Thursday, as he’s so often known to do.

Austin Eckroat

My Bet: +8000
Best Available Odds:

Austin Eckroat continues to surprise with high finish after high finish on the merit of his elite ball striking. It’s too early to tell whether the three top-15s over his last four starts is just a heater or a sign of better results to come. So, the FRL market seems to be the best middle ground to grab exposure to the rising Oklahoman until we learn more about his game.

Aaron Rai

My Bet: +9000
Best Available Odds: 

It’s always the right idea to play Aaron Rai FRL during a season in which he’s already cashed on three occasions across drastically different course set ups. TPC River Highlands, with its lack of length and emphasis on precise ball striking may be the best fit yet for Rai to add to his FRL total.

TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP PROPS (3 UNITS)

Top-40 Finish: Christiaan Bezuidenhout

My Bet: +220
Best Available Odds:

Bezuidenhout’s game is best suited on short, second-shot courses where you can lean on approach play and putting to separate from the rest of the field. He’s demonstrated that very clearly in 2023, finishing top-20 in each of his first three starts on short Pete Dye courses (The AmEx, THE PLAYERS, and RBC Heritage). With six top-40s over his last seven starts, this seems like the right market to grab exposure to the South African.

Top-40 Finish: Chez Reavie

My Bet: +275
Best Available Odds:

This is the third time in four weeks I’m here to endorse Chez Reavie as a top-40 play. It’s been successfully the last two times, so why stop now? Reavie continues a streak of nine straight events of positive putting performance. When combining that consistency with sharp iron play and a high clip of fairways in regulation, it tends to set up a reliable baseline of made cuts. Reavie has finished top-50 in six of his last eight starts and returns to the scene of his 2019 victory

Top-30 Finish: Cam Davis

My Bet: +320
Best Available Odds:

Consistency has not been Davis’ strong suit throughout his career, however, he’s finished top-40 in four of his five starts on courses under 7,200 yards to start this season. That’s enough reason for me to take a chance on his top-30 odds, as Davis has proven time and time again that he has the talent to hang with the best players in the world.

Top-20 Finish: Emiliano Grillo

My Bet: +450
Best Available Odds:

Fresh off a win at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Grillo is enjoying one of the best statistical seasons of his career, a credit to his consistently improved putting. Grillo has four top-25 finishes over his last seven starts, and has always been best suited on courses that reward accuracy off the tee and superior approach play.

ONE AND DONE

My Pick: Tommy Fleetwood

Believe it or not, there are only eight events remaining between now and the BMW Championship, where most One and Done leagues will conclude. It’s always crucial to reserve an elite player for the first two playoff events with $20M at stake, but in addition to the playoffs, that leaves The Open Championship and the Travelers Championship as the two highest purse events remaining on the schedule.

The Open Championship is likely the best remaining fit for Tommy Fleetwood the rest of the way, but given the purse at stake, his trending form, and his current odds, The Travelers may very well be his best opportunity to capture a win the rest of the way. Saving players like Schauffele, Fitzpatrick, and Matsuyama for later in the year, I’m doubling down on my spotlight featured player of the week in OAD.

If not Fleetwood, I would also consider Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, or Hideki Matsuyama as OAD picks.

TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP: THE BETTING CARD

That’ll do it for this week’s Travelers Championship bets. Best of luck this week with your own Travelers Championship bets, and see you on Sunday for the Rocket Mortgage Classic! For more, follow TheLines on Twitter.