Travelers Championship Odds, Picks, and PGA Tour Preview: Can Rory Stay Hot?

Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are among the big-name golfers in the field for the 2022 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands as we offer up our top golf betting picks.

Harris English is a longshot to defend his 2021 victory at the Travelers Championship, with a strong field set to challenge him the week after the U.S. Open. McIlroy and Scheffler come to TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, CT as the betting favorites. They enter the week second and first, respectively, in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) following Matt Fitzpatrick’s victory at The Country Club in Brookline, MA.

Editor's note: Justin Thomas withdrew from the Travelers Championship Wednesday morning.

We’re just three weeks away from the 2022 Open Championship at St Andrews. This week is likely the last time many of the top golfers tee it up together before the final major of 2022. Several could play the Genesis Scottish Open on July 7-10.

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Here are my top outright picks for the 2022 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands.

Travelers Championship Odds

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Travelers Championship Odds Analysis

McIlroy and Scheffler are co-favorites to win the Travelers Championship with shared +1100 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Jordan Spieth is the only past Travelers Championship winner among the top favorites. He beat Daniel Berger in a 2017 playoff, and Spieth is offered at odds as high as +2500 via BetMGM to win this week.

DraftKings is looking more favorably upon Keegan Bradley and Seamus Power than our other top-rated sportsbooks. They finished T-7 and T-12, respectively, at the U.S. Open.

Looking ahead to the odds for The Open, McIlroy leads Jon Rahm, Scheffler, Thomas, and reigning Champion Golfer of the Year Collin Morikawa as the favorite. The odds for McIlroy, Scheffler, and Thomas to win the final major of 2022 are similar to what they've been given this week.

TPC River Highlands Course Profile

Par: 70Length: 6,841 yardsGreens: Bentgrass with poa annua

Bobby Weed updated TPC River Highlands in 1989 after Pete Dye originally designed the course. One of the shortest courses on the PGA Tour circuit, TPC River Highlands demands accuracy off the tee because of its tight, tree-lined fairways and forced layups.

Still, past winners include long-hitters like Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson (three times). Winning scores are also consistently low and have ranged from minus-12 to minus-20 since 2010. There have been five playoff victories during that time. However, a single stroke has decided only three of the last 12 tournaments.

Nine holes played below par in 2021, with the easiest the 574-yard, par-5 sixth. The most difficult was the 481-yard, par-4 fourth. That’s the longest of the par 4s, with the shortest just 296 yards. The most common par-4 range is 400-450 yards. Two of the four par 3 holes exceed 200 yards, and the par 5s check in at a conservative 523 and 574 yards.

Travelers Championship Key Stats

Strokes gained: tee-to-greenSG: off-the-tee (accuracy over distance)Par 4 efficiency: 400-450 yardsBirdie or better percentage

In addition to those key stats, there will also be course history to draw from for the first time in three weeks. Looking at the field, 16 golfers featured have logged at least 30 competitive rounds at TPC River Highlands. McIlroy leads those in the field with more than one appearance at the event with 1.93 total strokes gained on the field per round across his 12 rounds at the venue.

English gained strokes in all key areas in 2022, but his 2.01 SG: tee-to-green per round ranked third in the field as the 32-year-old's strongest trait. Only one of the top 24 finishers in 2022 lost strokes on the greens, with another one losing strokes from tee to green. Also, 10 of the top 24 averaged 300-plus yards with the driver, and eight hit more than 70% of fairways.

The pre-tournament odds for the last eight Travelers Championship winners have ranged from +900 to +13000, but four were +2500 or shorter.

Travelers Championship Picks

Rory McIlroy (+1100 via FanDuel)Mito Pereira (+5500 via FanDuel)Brendon Todd (+10000 viaDraftKings Sportsbook)

Who Will Win the Travelers Championship?

McIlroy (+1100)

It’s important to at least be getting some market value when betting the chalk at the top of the board. McIlroy has been given odds as low as +900 to win the Travelers at DraftKings and PointsBet. That makes the +1100 odds through FanDuel a little easier to swallow.

After winning the RBC Canadian Open, McIlroy moved back to No. 2 in the OWGR with his T-5 finish at the U.S. Open. For the first time in three weeks amid his hot streak, he’ll play at a course where McIlroy has logged prior tournament experience. McIlroy finished T-17 or better in each of his three career appearances in this event. He registered his best finish of T-11 at TPC River Highlands in 2020 before skipping the 2021 tournament.

The veteran has gained at least 1.47 strokes per round with his putter in each of his last two events. Poor play around the greens held him back at the U.S. Open, but he still gained 3.23 total strokes per round on the field.

McIlroy ranks 19th on Tour in SG: approach in 2021-22, along with third in SG: off-the-tee, first in SG: tee-to-green, 46th in driving accuracy, and 10th in birdie or better percentage.

Check out our top-rated sportsbooks here

Pereira (+5500)

Speaking of market value, the +5500 offered on Pereira through FanDuel is a gift compared to the +3500 available at DraftKings and +4000 via BetMGM.

After rising to fame with a T-3 finish at the PGA Championship, Pereira ran his made-cut streak to seven before missing the weekend at the U.S. Open. Last week was the Chilean’s first time in 11 events when he lost strokes off the tee. While that was largely a result of inaccuracy, Pereira still ranks 28th on Tour for the season in driving accuracy. 

He’s also 10th in SG: approach, 11th in SG: tee-to-green, 18th in SG: off-the-tee, first in par 4 efficiency: 400-450 yards, and 58th in birdie or better percentage.

Todd (+10000)

A three-time winner on the PGA Tour, Todd has won't since claiming victory twice in 2019. However, he's logged a pair of top-10 finishes in 2022, and Todd most recently tied for 13th at the Canadian Open after shooting four rounds in the 60s and a final round of 4-under 66.

He's losing strokes off the tee in 2022, but Todd has been much better with accuracy while ranking fifth on the PGA Tour. The 36-year-old is also 48th in SG: around-the-green and fifth in SG: putting.

Todd will be making his seventh career appearance at TPC River Highlands. While he enters after three missed cuts in this event, Todd produced a top result of T-11 in 2020 and followed it up with a T-30 in 2021.

Primarily back Todd in the top-20 markets, but he’s well worth a sprinkle at +10000 to win.

Where to Bet on the PGA Tour

Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:

FanDuel SportsbookCaesars SportsbookDraftKings SportsbookPointsBetBetMGM

SEE ALSO: All picks, odds, and sports betting news. Be sure to check out SportsbookReview.com’s community forums and betting tools.

Travelers Championship picks made on 6/20/2022 at 3:45 p.m. ET.