Best PGA Picks this Week for the Travelers Championship

The last PGA Tour signature event on the schedule this week comes from TPC River Highlands: the Travelers Championship.

Most Likely to Win the Travelers Championship

Current golf odds price Scottie Scheffler (+400) as the favorite to win. At his price, Scheffler owns a 20% implied chance to win.

Rory McIlroy is sitting out of the final signature event this week, leaving Tommy Fleetwood and Xander Schauffele (+1600) next on the board.

They’re followed by four players at +2000: Ludvig Aberg, Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick and Sam Burns.

Travelers Championship Picks

Cameron Young (+2000)

It’s surprising to me that Young sits behind Fleetwood and Schauffele, given that he won more recently.

The finishing positions have steadily declined since his win at Doral. But poor putting metrics are driving virtually all of the regression.

Young spiked to +1.77 SG: Putting at Doral and +1.2 at TPC Sawgrass in his wins this year. Since his Doral win, ball-striking remained steady while the flat stick faltered.

The two-time winner this season cleared +0.7 SG: BS in three of his last four starts. He finished under that benchmark only once this year at Muirfield Village.

Two years ago, he fired a Saturday 59 that led to a T-9th at TPC River Highlands. He also won at Sedgefield CC late last year, a correlative setup to the Dye design.

Over the last two years, only four players recorded a superior finishing position on short or very short par 70s: Scheffler, Thomas, Fleetwood and Cantlay.

To me, I place Thomas and Young closer to Scheffler than the other two. Accordingly, I predict Young offers decent buy-low candidacy this week at TPC River Highlands.

Justin Thomas (+2500)

Thomas arrives at TPC River Highlands playing outstanding golf. Over his last 24 rounds, he ranks fourth in SG: TOT with six straight top-25s.

Within that sample, Thomas finished 20th or better in five straight, including a top-five at Aronimink.

The two-time major winner offers a natural counter to TPC River Highlands’ defense: difficult around the green play. Over that 24-round sample, Thomas ranks third in SG: ARG.

He’s also shown spike putting potential recently. Since the Truist Championship, Thomas has cleared +1 SG: Putting seven times in 20 rounds.

It should come in handy at an event where strong putting is required. Three of the last four winners at River Highlands finished fifth or better in SG: Putting en route to a win.

Lastly, Thomas owns a strong course history at TPC River Highlands. He finished 10th or better in three straight visits to the Pete Dye design, including a T-5th in 2024.

Viktor Hovland (+4500)

Hovland showed last year at the Valspar that he can come out of nowhere and win. Prior to winning at Innisbrook, he missed three cuts in a row.

He missed two of his last three cuts with a third-place finish sandwiched in between at TPC Toronto. Encouragingly, he ranks fourth in SG: APP and 15th in GIR rate in his last 12 rounds.

At TPC Toronto and Shinnecock, Hovland cleared +1.1 SG: APP in five of six rounds. He never lost strokes on approach in those six rounds.

The Norwegian also showed a spike ability when you take the driver out of his hands. Since 2025, Hovland spiked to 2+ SG: Ball Striking in 30.4% of 23 rounds on less than driver courses.

Only seven players posted a higher spike rate, including six that played at least 18 rounds.

Lastly, Hovland owns a strong ball-striking record at TPC River Highlands. In five starts at the Dye design, he cleared +1.7 SG: BS four times.

Last year, he shot two rounds of 66 or better – along with a 75 – before withdrawing in the final round. It leads me to believe Hovland possesses higher win equity than his odds suggest.

Akshay Bhatia (+6600)

Bhatia took down a signature event earlier this year at Bay Hill. Now, he gets a chance to replicate his strong Travelers performance two years ago.

The three-time PGA Tour winner surged to a T-17th at Shinnecock Hills. It marked his first top-20 finish since the RBC Heritage – another Dye design – this past April.

He gained in every stroke gained category and showed his usual spike approach potential. Last week, he cleared +1 SG: APP in each of his first two rounds.

The short game continued to work as well, with Bhatia gaining around the greens and putting in three of four rounds.

Bhatia showed his strong wedge game at Pebble Beach, where he finished T-6th. Plus, he ranks ninth in par 4 birdie or better rate within this field.

Those factors, along with a prior win this season, lead me to predict a second Bhatia win.