Travelers Championship Picks 2020
Unlike past Travelers Championship tournaments, this will be a star-studded field, which is a big bonus for golf bettors looking to cash in this week. This is the third week that the PGA Tour is back (albeit without fans on the golf course) and, because of the long layoff, we are seeing the best golfers in the world playing more tournaments that they normally would have on their schedule.
For those that like to bet on golf, this helps with the odds since there are a lot more favorites to win this week, which means that golf betting sites like Intertops have to raise the odds on all players giving you better value for guys that you are looking to make a wager on. You still need to do your research and decide who has the best chance of winning the 2020 Travelers, but in the end the payout will be a bit higher than it would with only a few PGA Tour stars playing.
We’ve seen so far that the cream does rise to the top in these tournaments with many big names lurking high on the leader board, even if they don’t end up winning. It may mean that unless you have a great feeling about a certain longshot bet to win the Travelers, sleeper picks and longshot picks may only be worthwhile if you are playing in a daily fantasy golf contest as opposed to betting. But you can check out our own Chris Duffing’s 2020 Travelers Sleeper Picks page for his take…
Regardless, here are some of our top bets to win the 2020 Travelers Championship this week.
Betting Favorites for the Travelers Championship
Rory McIlroy +1200
Apparently, he is human after all! Before the shutdown of golf, Rory McIlroy was having an incredible year with not one finish higher than a 5th place in any of his PGA Tour events. Since the return of golf, he looked to be continuing his torrid pace until the 4th round of the Charles Schwab Challenge, where he shot a +4 and knocked himself off the leaderboard. Then last week, he had a mediocre 1st round before coming to life in the 2nd and 3rd – ultimately finishing in the bottom half of the leaderboard. I don’t think Rory is done for 2020, and I am pretty sure he’s embarrassed a bit by all of this, so I like him to make a statement comeback at the Travelers Championship. He has played the Travelers twice and finished in 12th and 17th place and with many other big names in the field this week, I like him to step back and look for a Top 5 finish…if not win it!
Brooks Koepka +2000
*UPDATE* – Brooks Koepka has withdrawn from the Travelers championship due to Covid-19.
Slowly, Brooks is getting his groove back and he could be poised to break out this week. He finished a mediocre 32nd at the Charles Schwab, but stepped up his golf game with a Top 10 at the RBC Heritage. He has played four times at the Travelers Championship and made all four cuts with a 9th place as his highest finish. I probably like Rory as a bet to win the Travelers Championship more, but I’m not fading Brooks this week. His wonky back is the only question mark…
Travelers Championship Sleeper Picks
Viktor Hovland +6600
Not much course history with this young phenom with only one appearance at the TPC River Highlands finishing in 54th last year, but two solid tournaments coming out of the break and a win earlier this year make Hovland a sneaky sleeper pick this week to take at long odds.
Ryan Moore +14000
Ryan Moore has a solid record at the TPC River Highlands with seven Top 20 finishes which include a 2nd, 4th and 5th place. He hasn’t made a cut since the return to golf, but hasn’t played horribly either. I wouldn’t bet the farm on Moore this week, but he is at juicy odds for a player that has a good history at the Travelers Championship. He is more of a longshot bet to win and only worth a play if you feel lucky this week!
Other Bets To Consider
Bubba Watson (+2800) – If you do some research (we’ve kind of done it for you…), you will see that Bubba Watson has owned the Travelers Championship in his career. He has 3 wins and has 3 other top 10 finishes (2nd, 4th, 6th), but can be a bit of a boom or bust as he finished in 54th last year, has missed a cut, and had some mediocre finishes on his results sheet. Watson will get a little lost this week with much bigger golfers in the field, but depending on his odds when you bet him, he makes an interesting outright bet to win and definitely an interesting head to head or threesome bet to look at each round. If the Travelers has a horse for the course…Bubba Watson is it!
Paul Casey (+3300) – His last 6 years of results at the Travelers Championship are: 5th – 2nd– 5th – 17th – 5th – 2nd. If it wasn’t for how well Bubba Watson has been at TPC River Highlands, Paul Casey would be the favorite for “Horse for the Course”. This will be Casey’s first tournament since the break, so you will have to keep in mind the rust factor that others in the field have shaken off already…but he plays the course well and is a solid bet to take a chance with.
Abraham Ancer (+3300) – Not your typical sleeper pick (ranked 30th in the world), but he won’t be top of mind this week with a strong field of golfers. Ancer had some really solid tournaments before the pandemic and returned with a 14th place at the Charles Schwab. Then he made a run for the win falling just short with a 2nd place finish at the RBC Heritage. He finished in 8th at the Travelers last year, so a win wouldn’t be a total surprise – but I definitely like him in head to head or threesome bets this week.
I liked Ancer as a “sleeper pick” before he made a run up the leaderboard at the RBC Heritage – so his odds have dropped a bit, but he still won’t be at the top of most people’s betting lists to win given the strong field of golfers entered.
Joaquin Niemann (+5000) – We also had Niemann as a sleeper pick for the Travelers Championship, and then he kept moving up the leaderboard at RBC, and at one point looked like he would win before eventually falling back and settling for a Top 5 finish. He finished in 5th last year at the Travelers, and makes a solid bet this week with how well he is playing right now.
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