Out of the Rough: Travelers Championship (2025)

It’s tough to move on from the dramatics that were put on display at Oakmont Country Club and J.J. Spaun’s improbable victory at the U.S. Open, but the show must go on.

The PGA Tour now moves to its final Signature Event of the season with this week’s 73rd playing of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cronwell, Connecticut.

This event annually draws the second largest crowd each season on the PGA Tour to just the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.

The electricity that the crowds bring is a warm welcome following the U.S. Open and can both play to the benefit of the golfers or could see them crumble.

The Travelers Championship was first played in 1952 as the Insurance City Open before moving to the Greater Hartford Open in 1967. It took on Travelers Companies as the tournament sponsor in 2007.

TPC River Highlands has hosted the event since 1984.

Along with the change in the atmosphere brought on by the fans, this course offers ample birdie opportunities and truly rewards the best ball strikers on Tour.

The Field

At this point of the season, we know what we’re getting in terms of the field at these Signature Events.

The top 50 in the 2024 FedEx Cup standings lead the charge with the likes of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler headlining the field and the betting market.

At the point of writing this, all of the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) top ten will be in attendance including Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Russell Henley, Sepp Straka, Spaun, Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg.

Scheffler comes in as the defending champion as he held off Tom Kim in a playoff a season ago that saw protestors storm the green, bringing a large amount of sand from the bunkers onto the putting surface with them.

Other former winners of this event teeing it up include Keegan Bradley (2023,) Schauffele (2022,) Harris English (2021) and Jordan Spieth (2017.) 

The Course

TPC River Highlands plays as a par 70 at 6,841 yards. What is unique about this course is that it features just two par fives, so any hopeful winner will have to take advantage of the ample par fours this course has to offer.

The fairways and greens are Bentgrass as the rough is a thick Bluegrass.

It was founded in 1928 as the Middletown Golf Club before becoming the Edgewood Country club in 1934. The PGA TOUR bought the venue in the early 1980’s.

Upon acquisition by the PGA TOUR, the course was redesigned by Pete Dye and shortly after opened as the TPC of Connecticut in 1984. 

Further remodelings took place in 1989 by Bobby Wood in consultation with Howard Twitty and Roger Maltbie and then took on the name of TPC River Highlands.

The most recent modifications came in 2016 as the bunkers were restyled throughout the course which incorporated a new drainage system with new sand to improve the play-ability.

The 17th green too was rebuilt to increase the number of potential pin positions and small changes were made to the putting surfaces on holes ten, 13, 15 and 16.

Some leveling work was completed on some of the tee boxes that year as well. 

TPC River Highlands is known for its three hole strength, nicknamed the “Golden Triangle” that includes holes 15, 16 and 17.

The 15th is a driveable par 4, the 15th a 170-plus par three over water and the 17th is a 420-yard par four with water in play. These three holes all combine for great drama and spectator views coming down the stretch.

TPC River Highlands plays as one of the shortest tracks on the entire PGA TOUR schedule.

The fairways and greens alike historically rank as some of the easiest to hit on the PGA TOUR. Driving accuracy numbers sit around 70-percent, which is roughly ten-percent higher than the PGA TOUR average.

As previously mentioned, this event is the second highest attended event on the PGA TOUR schedule. This adds a stadium atmosphere to the course and makes for an exhilarating viewing experience, especially down the final stretch of holes.

Playoffs too have been of the norm here at TPC River Highlands with six of the last 14 events resulting in one.

Hole 18 has set the scene for many infamous “walk-off” hole outs over the years, most notably Jordan Spieth in 2017.

This course, in all, is a classic parkland setting that does have some man-made water hazards that come into play on five of the holes.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, we can expect some precipitation through the first two days of this event. Thursday is currently calling for a 40-percent chance of scattered thunderstorms as Friday is calling for a 40-percent chance of precipitation. From there, both Saturday and Sunday call for just a 20-percent chance of precipitation. With the chance of thunderstorms on Thursday will be the highest winds of the week, as they are set at 11 miles-per-hour. Friday is calling for ten mile-per-hour winds, Saturday five mile-per-hour winds and Sunday nine miles-per-hour winds. Temperatures will begin at 87-degrees on Thursday before dipping to 81-degrees on Friday. Temperatures will then rise to 84-degrees for Saturday and 87-degrees for Sunday.

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (SG: TTG)

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Proximity to the Hole From 125-175 Yards

• Bogey Avoidance

• Birdie or Better Percentage

• Strokes Gained: Putting on Bentgrass (SG: PUTT Bentgrass)

• Par 4 Average Scoring

• Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SG: OTT) / Hit Fairway Percentage

• Strokes Gained: Around the Green (SG: ATG)

• Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%)

• Scrambling / Scrambling from the Rough

DFS Suggestions

$10,000+

As I now often begin my DFS breakdowns, if you want to play Scottie Scheffler ($13,300,) I fully endorse that play at any monetary figure. I’m just not going to write him up each week because it’s as straightforward as possible. With that being said, my play in this price range is Collin Morikawa ($10,200.) Morikawa is currently second on Tour in all three of SG: TTG, proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards and hit fairway percentage, fourth in SG: APP, ninth in birdie-or-better percentage, 12th in SG: OTT, 29th in par-four average scoring, 34th in GIR%, 45th in bogey avoidance, 73rd in SG: ATG, 79th in scrambling from the rough, 81st in scrambling and 123rd in SG: PUTT Bentgrass. Morikawa most recently placed 23rd at the U.S. Open. He also placed 20th at the Memorial Tournament, 50th at the PGA Championship and 17th at the Truist Championship. He placed 13th here a season ago but missed the cut in both 2023 and 2020. I told myself I wasn’t going to bet Morikawa again and that I simply was going to let him beat me, but here I am, with him on my betting card at +2000.

$9,000-$9,900

Next up we have Sepp Straka ($9,200.) Straka’s course history is a bit of a mixed-bag-of-results. He placed 23rd here a season ago and 38th in 2023. He missed the cut in both 2022 and 2020 but did place tenth in 2021. He missed the cut last week at the U.S. Open but prior to that placed third at the Memorial Tournament. He also missed the cut at the PGA Championship but won the Truist Championship prior and also placed 12th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and 13th at the RBC Heritage. He also won The American Express earlier this season. Straka is currently second on Tour in both birdie-or-better percentage and GIR%, third in SG: APP, fifth in SG: TTG, eighth in hit fairway percentage, 11th in bogey avoidance, 12th in par-four average scoring, 14th in proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards, 41st in SG: OTT, 54th in SG: PUTT Bentgrass, 74th in scrambling from the rough, 90th in scrambling and 124th in SG: ATG. He is also on my betting card at +4000. Also consider Patrick Cantlay ($9,800.) Cantlay’s course history is unmatched by anyone in this field. He placed fifth in 2024, fourth in 2023, 13th in 2022, 13th in 2021 and 11th in 2020. He most recently missed the cut at the U.S. Open but placed 12th in his start prior at the Memorial Tournament. He also missed the cut at the PGA Championship but prior to that placed fourth at the Truist Championship, 13th at the RBC Heritage, 36th at the Masters Tournament, 33rd at the Valero Texas Open and 12th at THE PLAYERS Championship. He is also fourth on Tour in GIR%, sixth in par-four average scoring, 11th in SG: TTG, 14th in birdie-or-better percentage, 15th in SG: APP, 27th in proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards, 31st in SG: OTT, 51st in SG: PUTT Bentgrass, 58th in bogey avoidance, 78th in SG: ATG, 84th in hit fairway percentage, 131st in scrambling from the rough and 139th in scrambling. 

$8,000-$8,900

Leading this price range, we have Robert MacIntyre ($8,400.) MacIntyre had a real chance to win last week’s U.S. Open, entering the clubhouse at plus-one before Spaun put on his display of heroics. MacIntyre finished solo second last week and along with a 36th at the RBC Canadian Open, 20th at the Memorial Tournament, sixth at the Charles Schwab Challenge and 47th at the PGA Championship is in some insane form coming into this week. He is currently 12th on Tour in SG: PUTT Bentgrass, 15th in SG: TTG, 17th in GIR%, 19th in SG: APP, 22nd in SG: OTT, 32nd in hit fairway percentage, 44th in bogey avoidance, 58th in birdie-or-better percentage, 62nd in proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards, 77th in scrambling, 104th in SG: ATG and 110th in scrambling from the rough. He also placed 16th here a season ago. MacIntyre is also on my betting card at +4500. Also consider Shane Lowry ($8,300.) Lowry missed the cut last week at the U.S. Open but prior to that placed 13th at the RBC Canadian Open and 23rd at the Memorial Tournament. He also missed the cut at the PGA Championship but prior to that placed second at the Truist Championship, 12th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, 18th at the RBC Heritage, 42nd at the Masters Tournament, eighth at the Valspar Championship, 20th at THE PLAYERS Championship, seventh at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and 11th at the Cognizant Classic. He is currently second on Tour in SG: APP, third in SG: TTG, 24th in hit fairway percentage, 29th in par-four average scoring, 35th in bogey avoidance, 38th in scrambling, 47th in GIR%, 50th in proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards, 51st in SG: ATG, 63rd in SG: OTT, 89th in birdie-or-better percentage and 101st in SG: PUTT Bentgrass. Lowry placed ninth here in 2024, 19th in 2023 and 60th in 2020. 

$7,000-$7,900

My first play in this price range is Daniel Berger ($7,500.) Berger is currently seventh on Tour in SG: TTG, 14th in hit fairway percentage, 17th in par-four average scoring, 19th in SG: OTT, 21st in both SG: APP and proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards, 23rd in scrambling from the rough, 41st in scrambling, 48th in bogey avoidance, 59th in SG: ATG, 96th in birdie-or-better percentage and 113th in SG: PUTT Bentgrass. He’s been a bit out-of-form as of late but did place 46th last week at the U.S. Open. He missed back-to-back cuts prior at the Memorial Tournament and the Charles Schwab Challenge but did place 33rd at the PGA Championship, 11th at the Truist Championship, third at the RBC Heritage, 21st at the Masters Tournament, 30th at the Valero Texas Open, 20th at THE PLAYERS Championship, 15th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, 25th at the Cognizant Classic, 12th at The Genesis Invitational and second at the WM Phoenix Open. He hasn’t played this event across the last five seasons. Also consider Si Woo Kim ($7,800.) Kim is currently 12th on Tour in SG: TTG, 15th in SG: ATG, 22nd in both scrambling from the rough and hit fairway percentage, 29th in par-four average scoring, 31st in birdie-or-better percentage, 40th in SG: OTT, 46th in scrambling, 50th in bogey avoidance, 55th in SG: APP, 95th in GIR%, 108th in proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards and 137th in SG: PUTT Bentgrass. Kim placed 42nd last week at the U.S. Open. He also placed 31st at the Memorial Tournament, 28th at the Charles Schwab Challenge, eighth at the PGA Championship, 17th at the Truist Championship, 15th at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson and eight at the RBC Heritage. He placed 31st here a season ago but did miss the cut in all of 2023, 2022 and 2021. He placed 11th here in 2020. 

$6,900-

My first play in this final price range is Nick Taylor ($6,900.) Taylor is in great form coming into this week, placing 23rd at last week’s U.S. Open, 13th at the RBC Canadian Open and fourth at the Memorial Tournament. He did miss the cut at the PGA Championship but prior to that placed 17th at the Truist Championship and 12th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He’s only played this event twice over the past five seasons, placing 42nd last year and missing the cut in 2021. Taylor is currently eighth on Tour in GIR%, 12th in both SG: APP and par-four average scoring, 19th in bogey avoidance, 20th in hit fairway percentage, 28th in proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards, 36th in SG: TTG, 44th in scrambling, 71st in SG: ATG, 73rd in birdie-or-better percentage, 97th in scrambling from the rough, 112th in SG: OTT and 127th in SG: PUTT Bentgrass. He is also on my betting card at +15000. Also consider Kevin Yu ($6,400.) We last saw Yu at the RBC Canadian Open where he placed third. He missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge but prior to that placed 50th at the PGA Championship, fourth at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic and 29th at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson. He last played this event in 2023 where he placed 49th. Yu is currently seventh on Tour in proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards, 12th in birdie-or-better percentage, 16th in both SG: TTG and GIR%, 27th in SG: APP, 44th on both par-four average scoring and hit fairway percentage, 62nd in bogey avoidance, 81st in scrambling from the rough, 131st in SG: ATG, 142nd in scrambling and 158th in SG: PUTT Bentgrass. He is also on my betting card at +20000. 

Betting Card

• Collin Morikawa (+2000)

• Sepp Straka (+4000)

• Tommy Fleetwood (+4500)

• Robert MacIntyre (+4500)

• Nick Taylor (+15000)

• Kevin Yu (+20000)

Tommy Fleetwood (+4000)

Of golfers not named Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy, no one has a better average finishing placement on Tour than Fleetwood. He missed the cut last week at the U.S. Open but prior to that placed 16th at the Memorial Tournament, fourth at the Charles Schwab Challenge, 41st at the PGA Championship, fourth at the Truist Championship, seventh at the RBC Heritage, 21st at the Masters Tournament, 62nd at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, 16th at the Valspar Championship, 14th at THE PLAYERS Championship, 11th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, fifth at The Genesis Invitational and 22nd at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He placed 15 here a season ago, missed the cut in 2023 and placed 46th in 2022. He is currently ninth on Tour in SG: TTG, 11th in SG: APP, 12th in par-four average scoring, 26th in proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards, 36th in SG: ATG, 37th in SG: PUTT Bentgrass, 48th in birdie-or-better percentage, 51st in hit fairway percentage, 61st in SG: OTT, 63rd in scrambling, 82nd in scrambling from the rough, 92nd in bogey avoidance and 131st in GIR%.