PGA DFS Playbook: Travelers Championship

Do I really need to tell you why you should roster the number one player in the world?  He just finished 2nd at the U.S. Open and made the cut in his second trip to the Travelers last year.  You can pay up for him any week because he’s course proof at this point.

This will be Sam’s fourth trip to the Travelers and has improved his final standing in each of his three previous trips.  Burns has three wins on the 2021-2022 PGA Tour season including just a few weeks ago at the Charles Schwab.  He was just three shots back heading into Sunday’s round at Brookline before closing with a 76.  Top 5 in Approach and Top 20 in both Putting and Tee to Green. 

Another week on the PGA Tour and another Top 20 from Xander Schauffele.  Doesn’t matter if it’s a major or a regular Tour stop, he’s as consistent as they come.  He has five straight Top 18 finishes with a win a the Zurich with partner Patrick Cantlay.  He ranks Top 20 in Approach, Tee to Green, Greens in Regulation, Birdie Average and Scoring Average.  Would you be shocked to know he’s got 2 Top 20 finishes in three trips to the Travelers?  Nope?  Didn’t think so.  

I would have liked to have seen a better performance last weekend at the U.S. Open but he’s playing good golf right now.  He’s made the cut in eight straight events with a third at the Memorial and four other Top 25 finishes.  He has shown the ability with his irons to take advantage of this course with a 5th place finish in 2019.  He ranks Top 20 in Off the Tee, Around the Green, Tee to Green, Birdie Average, and Scoring Average.  I think you’ll get ownership sitting around Im and Finau.  

Power bounced back from his missed cut at the Memorial to finish 12th at the U.S. Open.  That was his third made cut in his last four starts and all resulted in Top 20 finishes.  He has also made the cut in his last three trips to the Travelers with his best finish coming last year when he came in 19th.  I like him this week because he’s 9th on Tour in Greens in Regulation and Top 35 in Birdie Average, Scoring Average and Putting.  The Irishman is a gamer and always up for a challenge.  

This kid is making a strong case for the Arnold Palmer Award (Rookie of the Year).  Since his break out runner up finish at the Valspar, he has six finishes of 13th or better with just one missed cut over that span.  Finished 31st at the U.S. Open last weekend.  The stats speak for themselves ranking 52nd or better on Tour in Off the Tee, Putting, Driving Distance, Greens in Regulation, Birdie Average and Scoring Average.  Hard to ignore the hot stretch and avoid playing him at this point. 

It is hard to ignore his play over the last nearly three months.  He has made the cut in eight of his last nine starts which includes two Top 10s and another four Top 30s.  He has also made the cut in both trips to the Travelers.  The numbers are really good across the board ranking Top 26 in Approach, Tee to Green, Greens in Regulation, Birdie Average and Scoring Average.  He makes for a great mid-range value this weekend.  

This is the perfect course for Brian and it shows in his results.  The reason he’ll be one of the most popular plays this weekend is his four Top 10 finishes in last seven trips to TPC River Highlands.  He has made the cut in three of his last four starts including a Top 20 at the Memorial.  He will never blow you away with his stats but they are solid across the board especially against a field like this one.  He ranks Top 72 in Off the Tee, Driving Accuracy, Around the Green, Putting, Tee to Green and Scoring Average.

The big Australian has had a very up and down season but still shows us flashes of what makes him dangerous every time he tees it up.  He finished 30th at the Masters, 34th at the PGA and just scored a Top 15 at the U.S. Open last week.  Since 2009, he has played in this event 11 times with 10 cuts made.  Over those 10 pay days, he had a win in 2012, another two Top 10s, and another three Top 30s.  He ranks 60th or better in Approach, Putting, Driving Distance, Greens in Regulation, Birdie Average and Scoring Average.  He will be popular in this price range.  

Todd is another one of those players who just fits certain courses and this is one of them.  He has made the cut in this event three of his last four trips with two Top 15 finishes.  Todd also has six made cuts in his last seven starts which includes two Top 10 finishes.  The summary of his stats are accurate driver and fantastic putter which are the tenants to success at TPC River Highlands.  

I’m not going to ignore his recent play and you shouldn’t either.  He has made the cut in seven straight starts with Top 10s in three of his last four.  While he didn’t play at the U.S. Open, he did finish 9th at the PGA Championship.  He has played in this event every year since 2011 with just three missed cuts and no finish worse than 25th.  He ranks 5th in Off the Tee, 35th in Greens in Regulation and Tee to Green.  I trust him in cash or GPPs this weekend. 

After a terrible spring, the summer heat has warmed him up.  He’s scored two Top 10 finishes in his last five starts and just one missed cut.  While his stats are all down from last season, we’ve seen the form improve lately.  He can still drive the ball a ton and ball strike with the best of them but it’ll all come down to the greens this weekend.  He’s made and missed the cut in two trips to the Travelers.  He’s a nice upside GPP play this weeks. 

Here’s another guy who fits this course just right and it shows in his results.  Reavie has made the cut in nine of his 11 trips, won the 2019 edition and has three other Top 25 finishes.  The recent play has improved as well, he has three cuts made in his last four with two Top 15 finishes.  Reavie can still keep the ball in the fairway off the tee, ranking Top 5 in accuracy.  I’d trust him in your cash or GPPs this weekend.     

There are only certain week’s I'm willing to roster Adam.  He has made the cut in three of his last five starts including a 15th and 21st place finish on shorter courses.  This former Duke Blue Devil ranks 26th in Strokes Gained: Putting, 56th in Scoring Average, and 48th in Driving Accuracy.  Adam has participated in this event three times with two made cuts and Top 25 finishes in both.  Again, you aren’t going to find a lot of quality in this price tag, you gotta take what you can get. 

This Canadian has slowly improved his game over the last month of the PGA Tour season.  It started with a made cut and a finish of 69th at the Byron Nelson, then a 40th at the Charles Schwab, 45th at the Memorial and then cracked the Top 25 in his nation’s championship a couple weeks ago.  The struggles begin and end on and around the greens for this kid.  He has the ability to ball strike with the best on the PGA Tour ranking 60th in Approach on the season.  He did miss the cut in his first appearance at this event but I’m going to chalk that up as a learning experience.  I’d keep him to your GPPs this weekend. 

Another Texans Longhorn on the PGA Tour, who would have thunk it?  He doesn’t make my playbook often but it was hard to find quality options under 7K this weekend.  I liked him because he’s accurate off the tee.  Kramer has also made the cut in back to back events coming into this weekend in Connecticut.  He has also made the cut in both of his trips to the Travelers with a runner up finish last year.