Instead of a card, Koepka got dad the Open trophy

Lucas Herbert (+130 for a Top 20) … The Aussie sits just outside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking at 52nd. He wasn’t selected for the Presidents Cup but that didn’t prevent him from filing a fine performance last week at TPC Summerlin where he finished T20. It’s his fifth top 20 in his last eight starts worldwide, and it’s the kind of momentum that should ease any strain as he sizes up his first-ever title defense on the PGA TOUR in Bermuda at the end of the month. But first, the TOUR’s best putter of 2021-22 will take the stage in his debut at Narashino. Adam Schenk (+250 for a Top 20) … He’s carved out his PGA TOUR career for what is now a sixth consecutive season with quantity over quality. He’s among the busiest on the board and he rarely follows one top 20 with another, so the 30-year-old is a candidate for a top-30 prop where you can find it because he recorded one in both of the previous editions of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP at Narashino. Finished T12 with a foursome of sub-70s at TPC Summerlin last week and finished inside the top five in fairways hit, greens in regulation and scrambling. Matt Wallace (+275 for a Top 20) … Like Schenk, a top-30 consideration is smarter given he’s opened the 2022-23 PGA TOUR with two of them in as many starts. The Englishman didn’t qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs last season but he’s fully exempt via the top 125 in Eligibility Points, so he’s off to a nice start via the lifeline. He also finished T4 in his debut at Narashino last year but he’s in the field this week on a sponsor exemption, which often can generate additional inspiration not to squander the bonus. Stephan Jaeger … The 33-year-old from Germany already is paying off his late surge to qualify for his first FedExCup Playoffs and keep his card on the third try. He’s opened 2022-23 with a trio of paydays and now has six straight dating back to the 5th-T13 at the finish line of the regular season. Ranked third in par-3 scoring last season. It’s a confidence-building weapon in his first look at Narashino and its set of five one-shotters. Riki Kawamoto … Asian domination belongs to South Korea right now, but the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP is staged in Japan and it’s poised to showcase its own talent. Among the rising stars is this 22-year-old who turned pro a little over 10 months ago. Two months prior, he prevailed in a tournament on the Japan Golf Tour’s developmental circuit. More recently, he’s scaled to sixth on the JGTO money list with a pair of victories on it since late August, the latter of which just two weeks ago. He leads his peers in distance off the tee and slots sixth in greens in regulation. It’s a timely reward that he’s qualified for the ZOZO, and given the relentlessness of youth nowadays, it’s reasonable to expect him to continue to put on a show in front of the home crowd. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. For live odds, visit BetMGM. Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. Visit haveagameplan.org to learn more.

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Dustin Johnson returns to defend his title at the Travelers Championship, his first win last season which propelled him to win his first FedExCup. TPC River Highlands boasts an impressive field with many of the TOUR’s top players travelling across the country from the U.S. Open in California the week prior. FIELD NOTES: Current FedExCup leader Patrick Cantlay is looking for his third win of the season… Five of the top-10 golfers in the world are teeing it up in Connecticut including Cantlay, Johnson, Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka… Phil Mickelson, who won this event in 2001 and 2002, is back at TPC River Highlands as the reigning PGA Championship winner… Garrick Higgo, who won the Palmetto Championship, will make his first non-major start as a PGA TOUR winner… Ten former winners at TPC River Highlands will tee it up including Bubba Watson, who has won the event three times… Sponsor Exemptions include Chase Koekpa (brother to Brooks), John Pak (much celebrated college player of the year), Davis Thompson (formerly ranked as the No.1 amateur in the world), and Austin Eckroat (four-time All-American)… Rickie Fowler returns to action after missing his first U.S. Open since 2010. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: TPC River Highlands, par 70, 6,841 yards. Located between Connecticut towns Hartford and New Haven, TPC River Highlands has been a PGA TOUR venue for 38 years now. The course is site of the TOUR’s lone 58 (Jim Furyk, 2016) but the key stretch comes on No’s 15-17 which play around a four-acre lake. Pete Dye oversaw a redesign of the course in the early 1980s, while Bobby Weed worked on an upgrade about a decade later after consulting with TOUR players Roger Maltbie and Howard Twitty. STORYLINES: Can more low scores be put up at TPC River Highlands? Besides Furyk’s 58, Patrick Cantlay shot 60 in 2011 (the low score in TOUR history by an amateur), plus Johnson’s 61 last year in the third round… Bubba Watson is still looking to join Billy Casper as the only four-time winner of the Travelers… The tournament was played without fans in 2020 but will welcome approximately 10,000 per day for the tournament… 14 total major championships have been won by golfers in the field at TPC River Highlands, and Phil Mickelson accounts for six of those. Mickelson returned to the Travelers after a 15-year absence in 2019 but has teed it up every year since… The U.S. Open fatigue hasn’t quite impacted the winners of the Travelers Championship. Each of Dustin Johnson, Chez Reavie, Watson, Jordan Spieth, Watson again, and Russell Knox all played the U.S. Open, but Johnson (COVID-19 schedule change) and Knox (Olympic schedule change) get asterisks since their events happened at different times. 72-HOLE RECORD: 258, Kenny Perry (2009) 18-HOLE RECORD: 58, Jim Furyk (4th round, 2016) LAST TIME: Dustin Johnson’s victory at the 2020 Travelers Championship marked the first of three wins on the season as Johnson would go on to win the FedExCup. He backed up a sizzling 61 on Saturday with a 67 on Sunday to top Kevin Streelman by one shot – despite making bogey on two of his final six holes. Streelman birdied No’s 10 and 13 but was stuck in neutral the rest of the way in. He hit his approach on 18 to 37 feet and when he couldn’t convert the birdie, the title was Johnson’s. Will Gordon and Mackenzie Hughes finished at 17-under for the week and T3, while Kevin Na, at 16-under, rounded out the top five. Johnson’s victory broke a 20-tournament drought. It was his 13th TOUR season and with the win in Connecticut, he had won in each of them. HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 6:45 a.m.-6 p.m. ET (Featured Groups), Saturday-Sunday 8 a.m.-3 p.m. ET (Featured Groups). Saturday-Sunday 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Featured Holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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