Out of the Rough: Travelers Championship (2026)

It’s always tough to move on from the dramatics and grueling test that is the U.S. Open, but the show must go on.

The PGA Tour now moves to its final Signature Event of the season with this week’s 74th playing of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cronwell, Connecticut.

This event annually draws the second largest crowd each season on the PGA Tour to just the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.

The electricity that the crowds bring is a warm welcome following the U.S. Open and can both play to the benefit of the golfers or could see them crumble.

The Travelers Championship was first played in 1952 as the Insurance City Open before moving to the Greater Hartford Open in 1967. It took on Travelers Companies as the tournament sponsor in 2007.

TPC River Highlands has hosted the event since 1984.

Along with the change in the atmosphere brought on by the fans, this course offers ample birdie opportunities and truly rewards the best ball strikers on Tour.

The Field

With this week being the final signature event of the season, who have come to know who will be in the field.

Of course, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler headlines this week’s field. Scheffler won this event two years ago in 2024. 

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy is the most notable absentee this week as he typically does not play events following majors.

Other notable players teeing it up this week include Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg, Sam Burns, Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young, Justin Thomas, Russell Henley, Si Woo Kim and Collin Morikawa. 

Keegan Bradley comes in as the defending champion, having chased down Fleetwood on the final few holes to claim what is basically a “home” event for him being from nearby Vermont. Bradley also won this event in 2023. 

Joining Bradley and Scheffler as former champions of this event playing this week include Schauffele (2022,) Harris English (2021) and Jordan Spieth (2017.) 

The Course

TPC River Highlands plays as a par-70 at 6,841 yards. What is unique about this course is that it features just two par fives, so any hopeful winner will have to take advantage of the ample par fours this course has to offer.

The fairways and greens are Bentgrass as the rough is a thick Bluegrass.

It was founded in 1928 as the Middletown Golf Club before becoming the Edgewood Country club in 1934. The PGA TOUR bought the venue in the early 1980’s.

Upon acquisition by the PGA TOUR, the course was redesigned by Pete Dye and shortly after opened as the TPC of Connecticut in 1984. 

Further remodelings took place in 1989 by Bobby Wood in consultation with Howard Twitty and Roger Maltbie and then took on the name of TPC River Highlands.

The most recent modifications came in 2016 as the bunkers were restyled throughout the course which incorporated a new drainage system with new sand to improve the play-ability.

The 17th green too was rebuilt to increase the number of potential pin positions and small changes were made to the putting surfaces on holes ten, 13, 15 and 16.

Some leveling work was completed on some of the tee boxes that year as well. 

TPC River Highlands is known for its three hole strength, nicknamed the “Golden Triangle” that includes holes 15, 16 and 17.

The 15th is a driveable par-four, the 15th a 170-plus par-three over water and the 17th is a 420-yard par-four with water in play. These three holes all combine for great drama and spectator views coming down the stretch.

TPC River Highlands plays as one of the shortest tracks on the entire PGA TOUR schedule.

The fairways and greens alike historically rank as some of the easiest to hit on the PGA TOUR. Driving accuracy numbers sit around 70-percent, which is roughly ten-percent higher than the PGA TOUR average.

As previously mentioned, this event is the second highest attended event on the PGA TOUR schedule. This adds a stadium atmosphere to the course and makes for an exhilarating viewing experience, especially down the final stretch of holes.

Playoffs too have been of the norm here at TPC River Highlands with six of the last 15 events resulting in one.

Hole 18 has set the scene for many infamous “walk-off” hole outs over the years, most notably Jordan Spieth in 2017.

This course, in all, is a classic parkland setting that does have some man-made water hazards that come into play on five of the holes.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, Thursday and Friday both call for a 25-percent chance or precipitation. Saturday is calling for a 35-percent chance of showers as Sunday is calling for a 35-percent chance of morning showers. Temperatures will begin the week at 82-degrees on Thursday before dipping to 81-degrees on Friday and 80-degrees on Saturday. Temperatures will return to 82-degrees on Sunday. Winds are currently set at just eight miles-per-hour for each of Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Winds will be the highest on Sunday at nine miles-per-hour.

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (SG: TTG)

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Proximity to the Hole From 125-175 Yards

• Bogey Avoidance

• Birdie or Better Percentage

• Strokes Gained: Putting on Bentgrass (SG: PUTT Bentgrass)

• Par 4 Average Scoring

• Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SG: OTT) / Hit Fairway Percentage

• Strokes Gained: Around the Green (SG: ATG)

• Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%)

• Scrambling / Scrambling from the Rough

Betting Card

Matt Fitzpatrick (+2200)

Fitzpatrick is currently first on Tour in both SG: APP and SG: ATG. He is also second in both SG: TTG and bogey avoidance, third in GIR%, tenth in par-four average scoring, 14th in hit fairway percentage, 21st in scrambling, 25th in both proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards and birdie-or-better percentage, 46th in SG: OTT, 54th in scrambling from the rough and 64th in SG: PUTT Bentgrass. He placed 22nd last week at the U.S. Open. Prior to that he was second at the RBC Canadian Open, 36th at the Memorial Tournament, 14th at the PGA Championship, 52nd at the Truist Championship and won both the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the RBC Heritage. He placed 17th here at TPC River Highlands a season ago. He also placed 36th in 2024, 49th in 2023 and missed the cut in 2020. 

Viktor Hovland (+4500)

I was late to getting to betting this week as I was traveling back from Shinnecock Hills but if I were to have had a first click this week, it would have been Hovland. Although he missed the cut at the U.S. Open last week, he placed third at the RBC Canadian Open a week prior. He also missed the cut at the PGA Championship but was 31st at the Truist Championship, 38th at the Cadillac Championship, 42nd at the RBC Heritage and 18th at the Masters Tournament. He last played the Travelers Championship in 2024 where he placed 20th. Prior to that he placed 29th in 2023 and 11th in 2020. Hovland is currently second on Tour in proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards, 16th in SG: APP, 21st in hit fairway percentage, 34th in SG: TTG, 39th in birdie-or-better percentage, 49th in SG: ATG, 53rd in par-four average scoring, 58th in SG: PUTT Bentgrass, 71st in scrambling, 74th in bogey avoidance, 81st in GIR%, 104th in SG: OTT and 117th in scrambling from the rough.

Kurt Kitayama (+5000)

Kitayama popped in my stats-based model this week and it piqued my interest right away. He is currently sixth on Tour in both SG: APP and proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards, seventh in GIR%, tenth in par-four average scoring, 15th in SG: TTG, 21st in bogey avoidance, 33rd in SG: OTT, 52nd in hit fairway percentage, 55th in scrambling, 82nd in scrambling from the rough, 88th in birdie-or-better percentage, 100th in SG: ATG and 126th in SG: PUTT Bentgrass. He placed 53rd last week at the U.S. Open. Prior to that he placed 22nd at the Memorial Tournament, tenth at the PGA Championship, 19th at the Truist Championship, ninth at the Cadillac Championship and eighth at the RBC Heritage. He last played this event in 2024 where he placed 31st. He missed the cut here in 2023. 

Justin Rose (+5500)

I love the middle of the board this week as I roll into Rose for my third selection in this price range. Rose quietly placed 11th last week at the U.S. Open. Prior to that he missed the cut at the RBC Canadian Open but placed 12th at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He also placed tenth at the PGA Championship. He has not been great at this event across the last six seasons however. He last played here in 2024 where he placed 68th. He also placed 36th in 2021 and missed the cut in 2020. Rose is currently 11th on Tour in GIR%, 12th in SG: APP, 33rd in SG: TTG, 38th in birdie-or-better percentage, 38th in par-four average scoring, 47th in proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards, 51st in hit fairway percentage, 54th in scrambling from the rough, 69th in bogey avoidance, 73rd in SG: PUTT Bentgrass, 85th in SG: OTT, 86th in SG: ATG and 122th in scrambling. 

Jacob Bridgeman (+9000)

The first of my two longshots this week is Bridgeman. I followed him at the U.S. Open unintentionally as I walked the course in the morning. Maybe that has him stuck in my head but he’s also been great on Tour as of late. He placed 39th last week at the U.S. Open, 11th at the RBC Canadian Open and 34th at the Memorial Tournament across his last three starts. Of course, he won another Signature Event earlier this season at the famed Riviera Country Club for The Genesis Invitational. He’s played this event just once prior, placing 52nd in 2025. Bridgeman is currently ninth on Tour in birdie-or-better percentage, tenth in par-four average scoring, 13th in proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards, 18th in scrambling from the rough, 30th in SG: PUTT Bentgrass, 35th in bogey avoidance, 42nd in SG: APP, 55th in GIR%, 64th in SG: TTG, 67th in hit fairway percentage, 71st in SG: OTT, 92nd in scrambling and 111th in SG: ATG. 

Jackson Suber (+22500)

I’m going very long to the bottom of the board for my final selection. Suber is currently 16th on Tour in GIR%, 18th in proximity to the hole from 125-175 yards, 20th in SG: APP, 42nd in SG: PUTT Bengrass, 44th in SG: TTG, 47th in birdie-or-better percentage, 56th in scrambling from the rough, 72nd in bogey avoidance, 74th in hit fairway percentage, 85th in scrambling, 87th in SG: ATG, 89th in SG: OTT and 109th in par-four average scoring. He missed the cut last week at the U.S. Open but was in great form prior to that. He placed fourth at the RBC Canadian Open, 67th at the Charles Schwab Challenge, fourth at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson and 19th at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic. He’ll be making his tournament debut this week. 

2025 Betting Card

• Collin Morikawa (+2000) - T42nd

• Sepp Straka (+4000) - T45th

• Tommy Fleetwood (+4500) - T2nd

• Robert MacIntyre (+4500) - T17th

• Nick Taylor (+15000) - T17th

• Kevin Yu (+20000) - T25th

2024 Betting Card

• Ludvig Aberg (+1600) - T27th

• Hideki Matsuyama (+3300) - T23rd

• Corey Conners (+4500) - T27th

• Brian Harman (+5500) - T9th

• Shane Lowry (+7500) - T9th