Betting odds, value picks, insight for Travelers Championship, final Signature Event

The eighth and final signature event of the 2024 season is upon us as the PGA Tour’s top players head to the Northeast for the Travelers Championship.

Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy, fresh off a heartbreaking end to the U.S. Open, headline the 72-player field at TPC River Highlands. Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Oberg and Viktor Hovland are also due to tee it up in Connecticut this week.

Unlike Pinehurst No. 2, this golf course emphasizes iron play while still allowing for plenty of birdies. It’s a second-shot golf course where the winner is usually whoever has the most par breakers this week. You’ll also see final scores hover around 18 or 20 under par, with multiple 62s and 63s recorded throughout the week. Heck, Jim Furyk shot a 58 on this layout in 2016, which is still the lowest score in PGA Tour history.

Travelers Championship odds:

Current Odds This week’s player win predictions, courtesy of DraftKings.

• Scottie Scheffler +400
• Xander Schauffele +800
• Rory McIlroy +850
• Collin Morikawa +1200
• Ludvig Oberg +1600
• Viktor Hovland +2000
• Patrick Cantlay +2200
• Hideki Matsuyama +2500
• Sam Burns +3500
• Russell Henry +3500
• Justin Thomas +3500
• Brian Harman +3500
• Tony Finau +3500
• Tommy Fleetwood +3500
• Tom Kim +4500
• Lim Sungjae +4500
• Kim Si Woo +4500
• Sepp Straka +4500
• Jordan Spieth +4500
• Max Homa +5000
• Matthew Fitzpatrick +5000
• Wyndham Clark +5000

Travelers Championship Insights, Predictions:

Keegan Bradley, a New England native and Boston sports fanatic, won the tournament last year at 23 under par, thanks in part to an 8-under 62 in the opening round on Thursday and a 7-under 63 on Friday. He led the field in strokes gained approach and strokes gained putting, which is why his final 72-hole score set a tournament record.

Xander Schauffele continues to perform well

This golf course tends to favor players who are good ball-strikers and putters, and Xander Schauffele fit that description when he won here two years ago for his sixth PGA Tour victory, and has since won two more, including this year’s PGA Championship.

Photo: Michael Reeves/Getty Images

Schauffele recorded his 10th top-10 finish of the season in the second round at Pinehurst despite not playing his best all week.

Schauffele has won on this golf course before, and based on the fact that he has played the best golf of his career through 2024, I’m projecting Schauffele to post a top-five finish at +180.

Bigton continues to finish in the top 10

Tony Finau might have been in contention for the win all the way to the end, had it not been for an unfortunate triple bogey on the 13th hole in the third round of the U.S. Open. Finau ended up tied for third place at 4-under par, two strokes behind Bryson DeChambeau.

Despite this, Finau’s play has been good, with four consecutive top 20 finishes in the past month.

Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

He’s a great ball striker and ranks third on the PGA Tour in strokes gained on approaches to the green. His putter has let him down at times, but that didn’t affect him much on the second hole at Pinehurst. He was 0.43 strokes gained on the greens this week, ranking him 39th among the field.

Considering the greens at TPC River Highlands aren’t even close to the greens at Pinehurst No. 2, I expect Finau to perform above average with his putter again this week and finish in the top 10 at +280.

Ludvig Auberg bounces back after tough weekend

Like Finau, Ludvig Oberg struggled on the 13th hole on Saturday afternoon, when he made a triple bogey that all but wiped out his chances.

Still, Oberg will bounce back this week. He’s quickly become one of the best ball-strikers in the world, and every one of his iron shots is flying high and arrow-straight — a great combination on any golf course, but especially on one with conditions as good as TPC River Highlands.

Additionally, Oberg played in the Travelers Championship last year, finishing tied for 24th at 13 under par. He shot a 5-under 65 on Saturday, an impressive round considering his tenure at Texas Tech ended about a month prior. But given Oberg’s experience on this course and his immense talent, I’d expect him to finish in the top five at +330.

It’s Russell Henley’s time

Perhaps the most underrated player right now, Russell Henley arrives in Connecticut fresh off a tied for seventh place at the U.S. Open. A three-under 67 in the final round helped him finish in the backdoor top 10, but Henley has four other top 10s this season. He’s also the No. 16 player in the world, thanks to his consistent ball-striking and excellent putting.

Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

Henry doesn’t miss the fairway often, so he has plenty of opportunities for birdies. His game should translate well here. He’s had success here. Henry’s best finish was in 2018 when he tied for 6th. Since then, he’s tied for 19th in his last two starts in 2021 and 2023. But this year, we expect Henry to do better than that. He’s +3500 to win, which we’re taking a lot of into account, but we’re +650 to finish in the top 5.

Longshot contenders and winners

Frenchman Mathieu Pavone played well enough to make the final group at the U.S. Open and held his own for much of the final round. An early bogey killed his momentum and he finished alone in fifth place with a one-over 71. But Pavone showed some impressive ball-striking and putting skills all week on the second hole at Pinehurst, suggesting his game is trending in the right direction.

He won the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year and knows what it takes to win, so we expect Pavon to finish in the top 10 again at +800 in Connecticut. His game seems to come in waves and is in great form right now.

Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images

As for long shot winners, I expect South African Christian Bezuidenhout to win at +7500. Bezuidenhout struggled to get going in the U.S. Open, finishing this week tied for 32nd at 7 over par. But he played solid golf, shooting three 71s and one 72 on the par-70 layout and not falling apart on any given day. Still, Bezuidenhout is a great putter, ranking 11th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting. He’s also an above-average ball striker.

The South African is also not a power hitter, an attribute not needed on the 6,852-yard layout that is the shortest course on the tour this season, and instead he relies on his ball-striking and short game to get the job done.

Staff picks:

The SB Nation golf staff has selected their players for this week’s Travelers Championship, and for more on why, check out our picks and predictions here.

Jack Mirko: Corey Connors (+3500)

Gina Kelly: Collin Morikawa (+1200)

Savannah Richardson: Ludvig Oberg (+1400)

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Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.