Keegan Bradley celebrates with the trophy after winning the 2023 Travelers Championship. | Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
The final Signature Event of the season is here and the SB Nation staff has made their picks on who will prevail in Connecticut.
The final Signature Event of the 2024 season has arrived, as 71 golfers will tee it up at this week’s Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut.
Rory McIlroy will not be there, as he opted to take some time off following his heartbreaking finish at the U.S. Open. But Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, and Ludvig Åberg will be. So, too, will defending champion Keegan Bradley, who blistered a soft course last year en route to shooting 23-under-par, setting a new tournament record in the process.
But this year’s course will play much firmer and faster with temperatures hovering in the 90s throughout the week. Luckily, this limited-size field will not have to endure the speed and difficulty of Pinehurst No. 2, but the weather will feel more or less the same as it did in North Carolina. The Northeast is experiencing a heatwave this week, with heat advisories extending from the Great Lakes through the Mid-Atlantic and all the way through New England. That means everyone at TPC River Highlands will need to hydrate, including the putting surfaces, which will turn crisp quite easily in these conditions.
This golf course is also the shortest one played on the PGA Tour all season, requiring precision into the greens and an exquisite short game. Get ready for a birdie barrage, too; although, with this week’s weather, scores likely will not go as low as they did a year ago.
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
The 15th green at TPC River Highlands during the final round of the 2023 Travelers Championship.
So let’s get to our Staff Picks, with Jeanna Kelly from SB Nation’s NFL site stepping in as our guest picker this week:
Jack Milko — Staff Writer, Golf
For the third time this season, a Canadian will emerge victorious on the PGA Tour.
I am going with Corey Conners, fresh off a strong tie for 9th at the U.S. Open, to break through at the Travelers Championship and win for the third time on tour. Funny enough, Conners won a pair of Valero Texas Opens, in 2019 and 2023, but this time, he finally wins an event outside of the Lone Star State.
Last year, Conners finished in a tie for 9th at TPC River Highlands, shooting four impressive rounds in the mid-60s to finish at 17-under. His bet score came on Saturday, when he posted a 5-under 65. But what I love about Conners is that he is one of the best iron players on the PGA Tour. He ranks second in strokes gained approach, sixth in greens in regulation percentage, and seventh in total birdies made, as Conners has poured in 253 par-breakers this season.
The one knock on him is his putting and short game, but both facets showed up at Pinehurst No. 2, relatively speaking. Conners ranked 28th in strokes gained around the greens and 30th with his putter at last week’s U.S. Open, which featured some of the most diabolical putting surfaces seen anywhere in the world. But best of all, his solid performance helped him clinch a spot in the 2024 Olympics, giving him plenty of confidence and momentum going into the summer.
With all of this in mind, I believe the stars have aligned for Conners to win, especially on a week when plenty of other top players mail it in fresh off a grueling major.
DraftKings Odds: +3500
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Corey Conners at the 2024 U.S. Open.
Jeanna Kelley — Associate Director, SB Nation NFL
When I make NFL picks, I consider many factors: recent performance, injuries, weather forecasts, and so on. Since this is my first time making golf picks, I tried to follow a similar strategy.
Obviously, the easy pick here would be Scottie Scheffler, who’s once again the odds-on favorite to win. Prior to the U.S. Open, and depending on that outcome, I thought I’d pick Rory McIlroy, but he’s withdrawn from the Travelers after last week’s fiasco. So I’m actually going with Collin Morikawa this week. He’s been playing really solid golf the past several weeks. His putting hasn’t been a liability, and eventually, these factors are going to lead him to a win. It might as well be this weekend.
DraftKings Odds: +1200
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Collin Morikawa during the 2024 U.S. Open.
Savannah Richardson — Staff Writer, Golf
I am going with Ludvig Åberg this week. He tied for 24th last year, but now he returns to TPC River Highlands with some familiarity with the course.
His game is in good form, but he just had a weird weekend at the U.S. Open, where two triple bogies stymied him.
But this golf course suits him, given his exquisite iron play. He ranks 11th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach and ranked 15th in that metric last week at Pinehurst No. 2. Luckily for him, TPC River Highlands does not have any greens like the 13th at Pinehurst or as difficult as the par-4 2nd, so he should not make any more triples this time around.
I think he runs away with it.
DraftKings Odds: +1400
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Ludvig Åberg on the 6th hole at Pinehurst No. 2.
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Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
