Fantasy Golf Tournament Preview- Travelers Championship

OVERVIEW
We’re going to leave the US Open in the rear view and focus on the task at hand, The Travelers. Before I get into the course I’d like to point out that I don’t think we should put much stock in bad or good performances last week. Sure, the guys that played well have some positives to go off of, but for the most part there were opportunities for everyone to go low at least one of the last four days. Some of them took advantage and some of them kept themselves in the mix for all four days. There’s also the mental & physical side to grinding out four days at a US Open. I’m not saying my theory is any better than anyone else’s on the matter, but fatigue has to be taken into account for the likes of Brooks, Reed, and to an extent, JT. Now onto the course. The course was designed ages ago by Robert Ross (no relation to Bob Ross), redesigned by Pete Dye in 1982 (this is a significant redesign) and again in 1989 by Bobby Weed. The course is very short at just over 6,800 yards, and demands working the ball both ways. The greens are also small, making precision with approaches a key stat to look at. There’s only two Par 5’s on the course, so it’s imperative to score on those, but Par 4 scoring will make up the bulk of the scoring. Jim Furyk holds the course record at 58 two years ago, and Patrick Cantlay shot a 60 here a few years back. Greens in regulation are a key stat and whoever gets a hot putter could be our eventual winner. Looking back at past champions gives us hope in longshot winners this week as only Bubba and Spieth are the more well-rounded, top tier players to have won on this course in the past five years.

TOURNAMENT BACKGROUND

o The Course
• TPC River Highlands
• Par 70
• 6,800 yards
• Bentgrass greens
o Location: Cromwell, CT
o Corollary Courses: Harbour Town & TPC Louisiana have strong correlations. You could also look at most Pete Dye specialists to see who should play well here.
o Past Champions:
• 2017: Jordan Spieth -12 in a playoff over Daniel Berger
• 2016: Russell Knox -14 over Jerry Kelly
• 2015: Bubba Watson -16 in a playoff over Paul Casey
• 2014: Kevin Streelman -15 over KJ Choi & Sergio Garcia
• 2013: Ken Duke -12 in a playoff over Chris Stroud

KEY STATS TO TARGET

o Strong Emphasis – SG: Ball Striking/APP, Greens in Regulation, Birdie or Better %
o Important – Scrambling, P4 Scoring 400-450y, APP 125-150y, APP 150-175y

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