Travelers Championship - Power Rankings
This week the Tour heads back east to Cromwell, Connecticut and TPC River Highlands. Located just outside of Hartford, River Highlands has hosted the Travelers Championship since 1991, but the inaugural event was held in 1952. The late Billy Casper won this event four times, and other past champions include Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson - two time winner, and this year’s defending champion. Watson held off Paul Casey last year in a playoff, after Casey made a late Sunday charge. The tournament serves as Connecticut’s largest sporting event, and attracts the second largest attendance totals each year on Tour.
A par 70, and at 6,841 yards, TPC RIver Highlands is susceptible to birdies, and conceded a round of 60 back in 2011 to Patrick Cantlay - an amateur at the time.
Let’s take a look at the players to watch for this week, along with my DraftKings lineups for the week.
Bubba Watson - Defending champion and two-time winner of this event. Had some moments at the PGA Championship last week which showed that he is in fact playing quite well.
Branden Grace - Another terrific performance last week in a major championship. Looking for his second PGA Tour victory of the season (RBC Heritage).
Patrick Reed - Played some great golf last week at Baltusrol. Hasn’t made a lot of noise this year, but has been playing well, having posted six top-10’s.
Matt Kuchar - Rare missed cut at the PGA Championship, but it should in no way overshadow how well he has been playing - has been posting top-10’s repeatedly.
Jon Rahm - His T2 finish at the RBC Canadian Open provided him special conditional status for the remainder of the season. Has come out swinging since turning pro back in June….And yes, I see the pun.
Louis Oosthuizen - World #15, despite the fact that he has missed his share of cuts this season. Not a player you would ever count out.
Paul Casey - Not his strongest season to date, but is last year’s runner up, and coming off a solid week at Baltusrol.
J.B. Holmes - Has five top-10 finishes this season, and coming to a course that could really suit his style of play.
Brooks Koepka - Showed last week that his game is in solid form, despite fact that he has been dealing with injuries this season.
Justin Thomas - Has only missed four cuts this season, which also happens to be the number of top-10’s he has managed to post.
Sleeper Picks
Lee McCoy - Turned pro back in June, but enjoyed some real success earlier in the year at the Valspar Championship - finishing fourth while playing as an amateur.
And now a look at my DraftKings lineups for TPC River Highlands.
In order to be successful in fantasy golf, you have to take chances which pay dividends. In both my lineups, I chose to spend heavy with my initial picks, and then take my chances with educated guesses toward the bottom of my order. Players like Wheatcroft, Lovemark, Kelly, Summerhays, Levin & McCoy, are all men who have given me reasons in the recent past to believe that they could have a big week. If I’m going to take chances, I want those picks to at least display some degree of wise thinking.
Starting Lineup:
Bubba Watson - $12,300
Matt Kuchar - $10,600
Colt Knost - $7,100
Steve Wheatcroft - $6,500
Jamie Lovemark - $6,300
Jerry Kelly - $6,000
Alternate Lineup:
Branden Grace - $11,500
Jon Rahm - $9,800
J.B. Holmes - $9,700
Daniel Summerhays - $7,600
Spencer Levin - $5,900
Lee McCoy - $9,300
This article was written by Jonathan Carr (@jonathanwcarr) as part of our weekly #FantasyGolf series. Each week we preview the upcoming PGA Tour event and highlight some of the players we'll be keeping an eye on. As a scratch golfer himself, Jonathan has a keen eye for what it takes to be successful on and off the golf course. His passion for golf is surpassed only by his passion for his faith and his family.
Read some of Jonathan's other articles here.
