What’s On Tap: 2023 Travelers Championship

From Cali to Connecticut

The third major championship of the year is in the books and in the battle of the field vs the course – the field won.

LACC’s debut included loads of debate on the host venue, a rather subdued US Open vibe but a crazy Sunday leaderboard that brought the goods. While the whole world was glued on Rickie Fowler finally getting a major, or a perfectly timed Rory W, Wyndham Clark snuck up on the weekend and stole the show away in an emotional victory as tribute to his late mother. 

As for the picks, we’re still stuck on six outright winners in 2023, and my Cam Smith pick was sniffing the top of the board all week but never had a chance.

I called for some unpredictability with the winner and I was right, we just had the wrong guy. Now we enter a summer stretch of events that have become routine on the schedule, and we start with a track I’ve walked a dozen times.

NEW ENGLAND GEM

I’ve got many memories watching the world’s best at TPC River Highlands from my five years in Connecticut. I watched a young Rickie Fowler make his debut there in head-to-toe orange, an epic Bubba Watson playoff win and of the Spieth chest bump for the ages.

The Travelers Championship is a short, quirky, vibey course that produces an awesome finish where electricity is likely – I’m here for every minute of it. This is a week where the hottest putter wins and birdies are widely available on short par 4’s and 5’s.

The par 3’s will sneak up and get you! We’ll be watching a shotmakers course that allows for creativity with club selection being paramount. The finishing stretch that begins with a drivable par four 15th is widely recognized as one of the more entertaining conclusions on any PGA Tour track.

The Travelers field seems to get better and better every year, and last year’s announcement that it officially became a designated event was equivalent to a lottery ticket for Travelers and the tournament.

This week’s field is topped off by all of the world’s best who are predictably exhausted from the week in L.A.

It should be interesting to see which of the big names in golf shine the week after a major, but Scottie Scheffler leads the betting board as the unofficial favorite by a nose over Rory McIlroy.

FORECASTING THE TRAVELERS

With TPC River Highlands being one of the shortest and moist universally playable course on the PGA Tour schedule, it brings a variety of fits into play – I’m focused on guys that have proximity with wedges and short irons as there’s a bunch out there, and past success on this course trends to bring back some familiar faces.

1. Who’s hot and trending – recent high finishes, top 10 streaks and consistent play are never a bad thing.

2. Horses for courses – players love certain courses and course familiarity and experience are invaluable in a field of the world’s best.

3. What the numbers tell you this week – while I’m far from analytical, there’s always a tournament darling or two scattered across the golf talk stratosphere that stuns on paper.

4. Intangibles – while this allows for theater of the mind, there’s a mysterious optimism surrounding that feels “due” or if the price looks just right for buying.

At the US Open in La La Land I had a sub par performance, admittedly.

After taking down the first two majors with outright winners I was nowhere near the target. Cam Smith’s 4th and a solid weekend for Morikawa made it serviceable, but it’s not the major form I expect to bring to you.

For that, I give myself a D and a reprimanding as we head into the summer swing.

THE PICKS

(Wanna start a Pick-X pool with your friends? Learn more here! Or, if you’re looking to start your own PGA One-and-Done pool, check those out here) (Hint: the main difference between the two is how many players you’ll pick each week)

1: Viktor Hovland – Off of a decent showing and top 20 at LACC, this is the type of player to make birdies in bunches, especially down the stretch on this track.

2: Collin Morikawa – The back doesn’t seem to be bothering him after a recent flare up and solid showing at the open. His point A to point B golf should work wonders here.

3: Cameron Young – Going on nothing else except it feels like he’s due to break out of his recent shell and have a good ball striking week.