2020 Travelers Championship Sleeper Picks

travels championship sleepers

This week we move on to the northeast and Cromwell, Connecticut for the 2020 Travelers Championship, which will take place at TPC River Highlands.  Another Pete Dye course, TPC plays to both the accurate short game golfing style and for a change, to some of the heavy hitters of the tour.  We continue fan-less play, and so we should, with the news that Nick Watney is the 1st PGA pro to contract the COVID-19 virus.  Some more golfers will be making their debut off the layoff, and others will look to remain sharp and attack for Fedex Cup points and a PGA win.

My longshot picks from last week are now a distant memory and unfortunately they were truly forgetful.  I will simply dust myself off and get back on the horse – because that’s what successful golf bettors do.  My angle this week will be to focus on players who are hot OR have a bit of accomplished history at TPC River Highlands.  I will once again bet at Intertops, as they continue to have excellent golf betting odds.

intertop bonus

Past Picks Rapid Recap

The conditions at RBC Heritage, despite a weather delay of 3 hours during the final round, were for the most part optimal.  The result was about a dozen golfers taking aim at the course record, with two breaking it!  Webb Simpson shot a truly amazing -22, while Abraham Ancer, also clipped the course record by one stroke at -21. Two other golfers, Daniel Berger and Tyrell Hatton, tied the record at -20.  What struck me is the number of young up-and-coming golfers who were in the mix and really have been demonstrating that all tournaments going forward are going to be “up for grabs”.  Some names to note include: Joaquin Niemann (21), Viktor Hovland (22), Doc Redman (22), Matthew Fitzpatrick (25), and elders Bryson DeChambeau (26) and Matthew NeSmith (26).  Add this to some of the other the highly regarded, young golfers such as John Rahm, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Sungjae Im and the state of competition in golf is very, very good right now.

This leaves me no choice, but to start including some of the “youngens” in our sleeper picks going forward.

Reasoning Behind This Week’s Picks

First off, I am going to focus on recent performance over the past couple weeks.  There are some very hot golfers right now that just can’t be ignored.

Secondly, once again, past performance at this course will have to be considered, but I also have to make sure to include players that have shaken off some rust and fade some others who are jumping in for the first time in months.

Key Things To Consider For The Travelers Championship

Similar to the Colonial C.C. and Harbour Town Golf Links, TPC River Highlands is a relatively short course. Accuracy will be key again.
There are some longer holes too, and some long hitters will shine as well.
Fatigue may come into play as well as rust – some will be playing in their 3rd week in a row, while others will be making their debut after layoff.

For a more in-depth look at the course and past history check out our Travelers Championship Preview 2020.

TOP TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP SLEEPER PICKS

Abraham Ancer (33 to 1)

abraham ancer golfer

Ancer is on fire.  He is hitting just about every Green In Regulation right now leading last week’s tourney at 90.3% and also led in Driving Accuracy at 82.1%.  A.A. finished the Heritage at -21, placing a cool 2nd.  He finished tied for 14th at the Schwab scoring -10, just 5 shots off the lead.  What I saw last week tells me he is ready for a PGA Tour win right now.  Last year at the Travelers he finished 8th, which tells me that this course suits him as well. I am shocked that he is paying 33x my money.

ANOTHER LONGSHOT TO TARGET

Joaquin Niemann (50 to 1)

joaquin niemann golfer

At just 21 years of age, Joaquin Niemann looks like he has the potential to be the next PGA Tour star.  He is playing great golf right now and finished tied for 5th at Harbour Town shooting -19 (one off the course record) and shot a respectable -6 at Colonial.  Niemann has one start at TPC River Highlands – he placed 5th last year in his debut there.  I am throwing a few bucks on this sleeper pick hoping to multiply my bet x50.

DEEP SLEEPER PICK

Jhonattan Vegas (200 to 1)

jhonattan vegas golfer

Unfortunately, Jhonattan Vegas hasn’t had much success at The Travelers Championship.  And, he has been VERY inconsistent the last 2 weeks.  So why bother placing a bet on Vegas at 200-1 longshot odds?  2 weeks ago at the Charles Schwab, Vegas shot a 64 in Round 1, which was the 2nd best round on the course for the week.  Then he imploded.  Last week at the RBC, shot a 63 in Round 2, which was the 2nd best round on the course again.  However, he didn’t implode, making the cut and finished a very respectable 17th at -15.  It seems he has the potential to dominate a course, he just needs to put it together for 4 straight rounds.  Maybe, he is the ultimate sleeper pick this week at 200x your money?

BONUS TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP LONGSHOTS TO CONSIDER

Sungjae Im (33 to 1) – Was hot in 2020 up until last week when he missed a cut. Might play to his advantage this week as fatigue becomes a factor for some. He is still top 3 in the Fedex Cup points standings and is a young superstar golfer in the making.

Collin Morikawa (33 to 1) – I still have faith that Mr. Consistent will break thru with a win soon. He was so, so close 2 weeks ago losing in a playoff and last week took an expected step back, but still played ok. Might be a nice bet at 33-1.

Ian Poulter, Corey Conners, Brian Harman (80 to 1) – I give you a solid group of 3 here at 80x your bet. Poulter contended in both the last 2 tournaments (29th and 14th) and the course here suits him. Conners similarly finished 19th and 21st the last couple weeks fading in both rounds and should have fared better. Harman was on the cusp at Charles Schwab and RBC placing 23rd and 28th – but I like that he finished the latter strongly with a -6 final round, showing his game could be rounding into top form.

Joel Dahmen (100 to 1) – Dahmen played a respectable round of golf at Colonial finishing 19th.  Then he took a -14 after three rounds (just 1 shot off the lead) into Sunday at Harbour Town only to post a 75 (+4) disintegrating from 5th place to 48th.  Dahmen is playing well enough to deserve a lot better than 100-1 odds this week.  All the better for me, because if this sleeper wins I will make 100x my bet and if you follow, so will you!

Travelers Championship Bottom Line

CBS Sports has done a fantastic job covering the return of golf on National TV over the past couple weeks considering the situation with the pandemic.  I almost feel like the coverage has been “even better” than some of the majors broadcasts over the past few years…or maybe it is just me missing golf for the past few months?  Either way, the Travelers Championship should be another great tourney – we are almost blessed to see so many top golfers and rookie talent all competing against one another because of the shortened 2020 PGA Schedule…  So, break open a cold one, start the BBQ and enjoy another fantastic weekend betting on sleeper picks!


RELATED TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP ARTICLES

Travelers Championship Preview

Travelers Championship Betting Picks

Similar Posts