The First Look: Travelers Championship

The PGA TOUR returns to Canada this week for the RBC Canadian Open. This year marks the first time since 2019 that the event will be featured on the PGA TOUR schedule, as the pandemic led to cancelations of the event in 2020 and 2021. Rory McIlroy is the last winner of this event when it was held at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in 2019. This week does feature a full field, with more than 150 golfers in the attendance, and will feature a strong top end, with five of the top 10 golfers in the OWGR teeing it up. The event will take place at St. George’s G&CC, a 7,014-yard par 70 that last hosted the event in 2010. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $800,000 Pitch + Putt [$200,000 to 1st] With the U.S. Open taking place the week after the RBC Canadian Open, a lot of big names have made the trek up North to get in some competitive practice. Both Justin Thomas ($10,900) and Scottie Scheffler ($11,100), the year’s first two major championship winners, are in the field. Sam Burns ($10,000), winner at another tricky par-70 track (Colonial) two weeks ago, is also making an appearance. As is Cameron Smith ($10,300), who suffered a dismal Sunday last weekend and ended the Memorial Tournament T13. The last time we saw the RBC Canadian Open played, it was on another shorter par-70 track in Hamilton, and that event was won at -22 by Rory McIlroy ($10,500). Given the way some of the top names in the world have performed this year, it wouldn’t be shocking to see another dominate win by one of them on what will be a shorter than normal setup for the pros. STRATEGY Shorter courses tend to put an emphasis on short irons, short games and putting. We should expect the Stanley Thompson-designed St. George’s G&CC to emphasize those specific facets of the game. In 2010, we saw Carl Pettersson take down the event at St. George’s, a player who ranked 137th in driving distance that season. Pettersson also ranked third in strokes gained putting that year and was able to craft a round of 60 on St. George’s in the third round, on his way to the win. The greens at St. George’s are bentgrass and, with rain in the forecast, could be very receptive for 2022. McIlroy ranks first in Strokes Gained: Putting on bentgrass greens over the last 24 rounds. Players who have good track records at short courses and have solid proximity stats with their short irons should also be valued highly this week. Matthias Schwab ($7,300) and Rory Sabbatini ($7,200) both rank inside the top 10 in proximity from 125-150 yards over the last 24 rounds while Smith and David Lipsky ($7,300) both rank inside the top 10 in proximity from 100-125 yards over that same span. Last year, the week before the U.S. Open, we saw Garrick Higgo take down his first PGA TOUR title at the Palmetto Championship, in what was only his second PGA TOUR start. Strange things can happen the week prior to a major, and there’s plenty of interesting names down the field to take a look at this week for our daily fantasy golf lineups. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Cameron Smith ($10,300) Smith found himself in contention again last week but fell back to T13 after a poor Sunday. He has wins at both Waialae Country Club (Sony Open) and TPC Sawgrass (THE PLAYERS), two shorter tracks on the PGA TOUR where short irons, short games and putting are all magnified. The course this week will be much less demanding off the tee than the venues seen in Smith’s last two starts, and that should allow the rest of his game to shine through. He’s been showcasing an elite approach game of late and ranks first in proximity from 100-125 yards out over the last 24 rounds. Starting DFS lineups with Smith this week on a suitable layout makes complete sense when looking at the top of the board. Corey Conners ($9,600) Conners has typically held himself very well at some of the shorter tracks on the PGA TOUR. He landed a T12 at Hilton Head in April and was also T11 at the aforementioned Waialae Country Club in Hawaii this January. Obviously, the Canadian will be playing in his national open, which will make this week a little more special for him than the rest of the field, so seeing him attack with a little more seriousness wouldn’t be shocking. A wet course with high greens in regulations also wouldn’t be terrible for Conners, as he gained over 8.0 strokes on approach last week at the Memorial and is second in the field in proximity stats over the last 50 rounds. David Lipsky ($7,300) If you’re looking to take a shot with a player lower down the board this week, then perhaps think about looking to Lipsky, who has been playing solid golf of late. The former Korn Ferry Tour and European Tour winner ranks 12th in Strokes Gained: Approach stats over the last 50 rounds and has done well over the last couple of weeks on tougher setups (T37 last week at Muirfield). Lipsky’s strong short-iron game should shine through at St. George’s, and he won’t be as disadvantaged by his lack of distance off the tee. Stephan Jaeger ($7,300) and C.T. Pan ($8,100) are a couple of other potential value targets for DFS this week, as they’ve been trending well on approach and should set up well for this older, more technical venue. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $800,000 Pitch + Putt [$200,000 to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is wavegoodbye) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. 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THE OVERVIEW SILVIS, Ill. – Tweet, tweet, tweet. Get ready for another birdie blitz at the John Deere Classic. No course on TOUR yielded more birdies (30,042) than TPC Deere Run between 2000-2016. And second place isn’t not even close. TPC River Highlands was next at 26,516. “If you get content with just hitting a couple fairways and greens and making a couple putts you’re probably going to get passed by,â€� said 2012 winner Zach Johnson. “Aggressive mentality is one thing. But I like to play it as almost like a conservative aggressive approach. … I know there are certain pins you can get after and certain pins you probably shouldn’t. “I think that’s the beauty of this track. It does have some teeth if you’re overly aggressive and does have some teeth if you’re off. That’s why we see a separation (between players), too.â€� Since 2003, the par-4 scoring average at TPC Deere Run has been the lowest of any course played on TOUR (minimum 60,000 holes played). Players have averaged 3.997 on the two-shotters at TPC Deere Run, narrowly making it the lone course where the par-4 scoring average is below par. For added excitement, there were 83 hole-outs at last year’s John Deere Classic. Only TPC Southwind (86) allowed more last season. The winning score at TPC Deere Run, which has hosted the tournament since 2000, has never been worse than 16-under 268, and the winner has broken the 20-under barrier in seven of the past eight years. The exception was Jordan Spieth’s victory in 2013, when he shot 19 under. Steve Stricker set the tournament scoring record, 26-under 258, in his 2010 win. Why all the low scores? TPC Deere Run’s fairways were the second-easiest to hit last season, with players finding the short grass on 74.5 percent of tee shots. The course also had the third-lowest proximity to the hole on approach shots of 150-175 yards last season (26 feet, 9 inches). The course’s generous disposition, and the softening of the course thanks to a few storms, should set us up for another shootout in Silvis, Illinois. Berger may be making his debut at TPC Deere Run, but he is coming in pretty hot. He won the FedEx St. Jude Classic and lost a playoff at the Travelers Championship to Jordan Spieth’s dramatic bunker hole-out. Berger is ninth in the FedExCup and well on his way to representing Team USA in the Presidents Cup. A winner here in 2014, Harman has added another title to his resume with his win over FedExCup leader Dustin Johnson at the Wells Fargo Championship. Harman also was runner-up at the U.S. Open, and currently ranks eighth on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting and 17th in birdie-or-better percentage. Leads the Power Rankings this week as he trends towards something big. A solo eighth at the U.S. Open and T3 at the Travelers Championship in his last two starts are among five top-10s in 2017. Also led for a long time at The Masters. Seems destined to take it through four rounds sometime soon. THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER Rank PLAYER COMMENT THE FLYOVER A closer look at the 476-yard, par-4 finishing hole. TPC Deere Run saves its toughest for last, testing any player who wants to walk away with the trophy at the John Deere Classic. The hole played to a 4.16 scoring average last year, making it one of just four par-4s at TPC Deere Run to play over par (Nos. 9, 11 and 15 are the others). The hole was birdied approximately 1/7th of the times it was played last year (65 of 453). It was the third-hardest fairway (69.5 percent) to hit at TPC Deere Run last year and second-hardest green (56.3). THE LANDING ZONE The 361-yard, par-4 14th hole gives players an opportunity to take a chance down the stretch. The short par-4 is downhill, putting it within reach from the tee for many players in the field. A bunker protects the front-left of the green, while a steep, shaved slope sits behind the green. This was the third-easiest hole at TPC Deere Run, playing to a 3.704 scoring average. There were 158 birdies on the hole last year, compared to just 18 bogeys and three doubles. WEATHER CHECK TEMPS: Lows will be in the 60s during the week, while the high temperature is due to break 90 on Thursday and sit in the high 80s the remaining days. RAIN: There is a 60 percent chance of rain on Thursday and Friday, and a 50-percent chance before clearing Saturday. There is a 20 percent chance of storms Sunday. WINDS: Wind could get up to 15 mph on Thursday, but the remaining rounds call for 6-12 mph breezes. ODDS AND ENDS 1. MOORE RETURNS: The defending champion is returning from a short injury hiatus. He’s been resting a sore shoulder since the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide in early June. Sitting 61st in the FedExCup, Moore wants to make a charge similar to last season, when he parlayed his win at the John Deere with three top-10 finishes in the Playoffs, including a playoff loss to Rory McIlroy at the TOUR Championship. Moore is 8 for 8 in cuts made at TPC Deere Run, with his last 23 rounds straight being under par. 2. LAST OPEN DOOR: The John Deere Classic is the third and final PGA TOUR event that is part of this year’s Open Qualifying Series, which offers spots in the upcoming Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. The top finisher this week who is not already exempt into The Open (and who finishes among the top five at TPC Deere Run) will earn the last spot into the year’s third major. Last week, Xander Schauffele, Robert Streb, Sebastian Munoz and Jamie Lovemark earned spots in The Open with their finishes at The Greenbrier Classic. 3. VETERAN SUCCESS: Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson might not be yapping at the heels of those leading the FedExCup race this season but the two stalwarts are unquestionably a pair of kings when it comes to TPC Deere Run. Stricker won three consecutive titles from 2009-2012 and has seven top-10 finishes in 15 starts here. Since 2000, Stricker is a 154 under par at TPC Deere Run. Johnson is 153 under. The next best player is Charles Howell III, who is 103 under. Stricker has eight rounds of 64 or better since 2000, while Johnson has five. Johnson won the event in 2012 and has 258 birdies since 2003, the most of any player. Stricker has 241 birdies in that run. Johnson has 39 rounds below 70 since 2000, the most of any player, ahead of Stricker’s 30.

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SAN DIEGO — Ryan Palmer had a round as magnificent as the weather at Torrey Pines, making 11 birdies for a 10-under 62 on the North Course to build a two-shot lead over Brandt Snedeker in the Farmers Insurance Open. For so many others, it wasn’t all that pretty. Tiger Woods began his day with four putts from 25 feet and wound up with a 71 to be six shots back going into the weekend. Phil Mickelson missed the cut for the second straight week. Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, defending champion Justin Rose and U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland also missed the cut. Related: Leaderboard | Tee Times | Insider: When will Tiger win No. 83? Palmer had no such problems. He was sprinting toward a course record on the North until missing the fairway on the tough par-4 closing hole and making his only bogey of the round. No matter. He was at 10-under 134, two shots clear of Snedeker, who shot 67 on the South. Snedeker loves the poa annua greens, having won at Torrey Pines in 2016 and also winning at Pebble Beach. Woods, going for his record 83rd career victory on the PGA TOUR, recovered from his tough start by making four birdies in a five-hole stretch through the 10th hole. But he made only one more birdie the rest of the way, that on the 18th hole. “It was a good middle part of the round,” Woods said. Palmer had a chance to win two weeks ago at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Needing a birdie on the par-5 18th hole to have any chance, he fanned a fairway metal out of a fairway bunker. Still, he was playing well for the week, and a move across the Pacific to San Diego didn’t change that. The cut was at 1-under 143.

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