After a thrilling U.S. Open at Oakmont, the PGA Tour heads to Connecticut for the Travelers Championship. This signature event will feature 72 of the PGA Tour’s best at TPC River Highlands, created in 1982 by Pete Dye. The PGA Tour invested millions into a renovation effort ahead of the 2024 tournament, which ultimately did little to affect scoring. At the end of the day, TPC River Highlands is the shortest course on the PGA Tour, so it will always be a wedge fest where accuracy off the tee, short to middle iron play, and putting from five to 15 feet are heavily accentuated.
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Scottie Scheffler will return to defend his title, and he will be met with an intriguing crop of challengers led by Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa and former Travelers Championship winner Xander Schauffele. Scheffler is coming off a T-7 finish at Oakmont, which might have fallen short of expectations, but he is sure to rebound this week at a familiar and comfortable venue. Let’s dive into the DraftKings slate.
$10,000 range Play: Scottie Scheffler, $13,300: 
Andy Lyons
TPC River Highlands is the perfect, comfortable, PGA Tour setup for Scottie Scheffler to find his way back into the winner’s circle. Coming off a seventh-place finish at the U.S. Open, Scheffler’s price is now in check, and he is returning to a golf course where he is the defending champion. TPC River Highlands accentuates accuracy over distance of the tee and supreme wedge play. These are all positives for the World No. 1.
$9,000 range Play: Patrick Cantlay, $9,800: 
Warren Little
Patrick Cantlay possesses incredible course history at TPC River Highlands, with eight top-25 finishes in 10 appearances, including a fourth and a fifth in his last two appearances. Despite a disappointing missed cut at the U.S. Open, Patrick Cantlay’s ball-striking this season has been rock-solid, and I fully expect him to re-gain form around the comfortable confines of TPC River Highlands.
Fade: Sam Burns, $9,100:
Sam Burns is coming off an emotionally draining performance last week at the U.S. Open, and while TPC River Highlands should certainly accentuate his wedge play and putting skill, I’m expecting some regression after two contending weeks at TPC Toronto and Oakmont. Going deep at each of the last two tournaments was an impressive, albeit tiring week.
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$8,000 range Play: Keegan Bradley, $8,500:
Keegan Bradley is a former champion at this Pete Dye design, and he also boasts an incredible track record on short, positional golf courses such as TPC Potomac and TPC Sawgrass. Bradley has played some of the best golf of his career in the Northeast, and I fully expect that trend to continue this week at TPC River Highlands.
Fade: Corey Conners, $8,700: 
Ross Kinnaird
While Corey Conners certainly makes sense at TPC River Highlands as a course fit, he injured his wrist last week at Oakmont, so much to the point where he was forced to withdraw before the final round. Until we receive more information confirming that Conners is fully healthy, I will be avoiding him in DraftKings like the plague.
$7,000 range Play: Aaron Rai, $7,500: 
Andy Lyons
Aaron Rai remains one of the most accurate drivers of the ball in this field, and that was on full display last week at Oakmont. Now he travels to another golf course that will accentuate his accuracy and elite short to middle iron play. Rai boasts a tremendous track record as well on other short, positional, less-than-driver golf courses.
Fade: Adam Scott, $7,600:
Similar to Sam Burns, Adam Scott is coming off an incredibly taxing week at Oakmont where he squandered an opportunity to pick up his second major championship victory. I’m not sure if a short, positional, less-than-driver golf course is the ideal fit for this version of Adam Scott.
Flier: Brian Harman, $7,200: 
Cliff Hawkins
While Brian Harman has not been playing his best golf of late, TPC River Highlands is a phenomenal fit for the former Open champion based on his accuracy off the tee and short to middle iron play, and his history here backs that up. Harman also boasts an immaculate resume on other shorter, positional golf courses.
$6,000 range Play: Lucas Glover, $6,200: 
Warren Little
Lucas Glover is one of my favorite sleeper plays on the slate due to his accuracy off the tee and upside with his short to middle iron players. Glover is one of the best wedge players in the field, and his history at many of my favorite comp courses back this up. Glover has won at both Sedgefield and TPC Deere Run, and I would not be surprised if he added a TPC River Highlands victory to his resume as well.
Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. Andy is the founder and CEO of Inside Sports Network, a website devoted to the predictive quality of advanced analytics and golf course architecture. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for Run Pure Sports, RickRunGood.com, the Score and GolfWRX. In his free time, Andy can likely be found on a golf course. Follow him on Twitter: @adplacksports
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
