2020 Travelers Championship Odds & Picks; McIlroy, DeChambeau Favorites Once Again
- The PGA Tour heads to Cromwell, Connecticut for the Travelers Championship from June 25-28th, featuring a loaded field once again
- Rory McIlroy is the opening favorite over Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas
- We’ve narrowed down the golfers with the best chance of emerging victorious and provided the best value bets below
Following a shootout at the RBC Heritage which saw Webb Simpson snag his seventh career PGA Tour title, nine of the top ten players in the world (Adam Scott the lone exception) are teeing it up at TPC River Highlands for the Travelers Championship.
Low scores are paramount around this track, with each tournament since 1993 featuring a double-digit under par winning score, with the last two tournaments being won with a 17-under total – by Chez Reavie, and Bubba Watson, respectively.
With many of the usual suspects not factoring into last week’s RBC Heritage, Webb Simpson cracked the top five in the world rankings, leading to another wide open field this week.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Tour has unfortunately seen more withdrawals due to COVID-19 amongst those in the supposed “bubble”. Cameron Champ withdrew on Tuesday due to a positive a test, and Graeme McDowell, Brooks Koepka, Chase Koepka and Webb Simpson have also withdrawn out of caution due to the positive tests of multiple caddies within their presence.
2020 Travelers Championship Odds
| Golfer | Odds |
|---|---|
| Rory McIlroy | +1100 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | +1200 |
| Justin Thomas | +1200 |
| Jon Rahm | +1600 |
| Dustin Johnson | +2800 |
| Patrick Cantlay | +2800 |
| Justin Rose | +3000 |
| Xander Schauffele | +3000 |
| Abraham Ancer | +3300 |
| Bubba Watson | +3300 |
| Paul Casey | +3500 |
| Sungjae Im | +3500 |
| Collin Morikawa | +4000 |
| Joaquin Niemann | +4000 |
| Jordan Spieth | +4500 |
| Patrick Reed | +4500 |
| Sergio Garcia | +4500 |
| Viktor Hovland | +4500 |
| Matthew Fitzpatrick | +5000 |
Odds taken June 24th
McIlroy’s Performances Not Affecting Odds
Nobody in the world was on quite the blazing run that Rory McIlroy was before the three month tour stoppage – but in the first two events back he’s been a pedestrian T-32nd and T-41st.
"I'm just not comfortable in trying to pick lines and really commit to shots. I just wasn't as committed today as I need to be around here."
Rory McIlroy struggling to adapt to Harbour Town after his opening 72 at the RBC Heritage …— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) June 18, 2020
Putting, which is the only ‘strokes gained’ stat that Rory isn’t strong in (92nd), has reared its ugly head the first two weeks back as he was 58th at Colonial and 60th last week at Harbour Town.
The two times the Ulsterman has played this event he’s had subpar performances on the greens in both 2017 and 2018 (69th and 74th respectively in SG: putting).
He’s clearly talented enough to win despite those struggles, but as the +1100 favorite, I’d place my money elsewhere.
Bulked up Bryson Due for Breakthrough
Bryson DeChambeau has packed on 20 pounds of muscle in order to achieve more distance off the tee and it’s worked – as he was first at Colonial and seventh at the RBC Heritage, courses where you can’t always ‘unleash the kraken’ (as he likes to say) off the tee and smash a ton of drivers.
Bryson DeChambeau made quite the impression off the tee last week.@McIlroyRory couldn't help but notice. pic.twitter.com/7XNhu21xb0
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 17, 2020
TPC River Highlands will be much friendlier in that respect, where DeChambeau can take advantage off the tee, as he was first in strokes gained at the Charles Schwab Challenge and fifth at Harbour Town.
He’s never missed a cut in four tries at the Travelers Championship and had top 10’s the last two times out (T-8th last year, T-9th in 2018). It feels inevitable that he’ll get back into the winners circle sooner rather than later and this could be that week.
Bryson DeChambeau’s Last Five Events
| Tournament | Result |
|---|---|
| RBC Heritage | T-8th |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | T-3rd |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | 4th |
| WGC-Mexico Championship | 2nd |
| Genesis Invitational | T-5th |
Last Five Travelers Championship Winners
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Chez Reavie |
| 2018 | Bubba Watson |
| 2017 | Jordan Spieth |
| 2016 | Russell Knox |
| 2015 | Bubba Watson |
2020 Travelers Championship Best Value Picks
- Bubba Watson (+2900): A three-time winner of this event, Bubba epitomizes the perfect horse for this course. Also has a runner-up and fourth place result around this track.
- Joaquin Niemann (+4000): Contended down the stretch at last week’s RBC Heritage before an untimely bogey on the 71st hole, settling for a tie for fifth after a 63-65 weekend. Also had a T-5th result in Travelers debut last year.
- Jason Day (+6500): Despite battling nagging injuries and missing the cut in the first two events back, at these odds it’s always an auto bet on Jason Day. In the last two years at TPC River Highlands he’s also finished T-8th and T-12th.
Michael "Hound Dog" Harrison is well known in the sports industry as the resident statistician for the SC with Jay Onrait Show. He has worked at TSN for over 16 years, where he's been featured on Sportscentre, That's Hockey, That's Hockey 2Nite, The Masters preview shows, and several more.
