The Winning Element: PGA DFS Picks for The Travelers Championship 2022

The tour of New England continues this week in Cromwell, Conn., as the PGA Tour steps back in after a one-week absence for the Travelers Championship. Voted as one of the best PGA Tour events of the year by both the fans and the players, the course and field should provide an enjoyable week. With the John Deere Classic scheduled next week before the tour heads across the pond, this tournament should provide the strongest field we’ll see for the next few weeks. This article will cover my entire pool for the event, give a weather update, and provide my favorite Travelers Championship bets, who I’m fading and the best PGA DFS picks this week.

PGA DFS & Golf Betting Picks: Travelers Championship

As typical, the favorite trio of Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa are covered first. The latter of the three is a “Milk before Cereal” guy …

To state for the record, once again, you all are absolutely wrong. I’ve said it since February at Riviera that I’m here to stay on the @PGATOUR and nothing has changed. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some cereal to pour in my milk

— Collin Morikawa (@collin_morikawa) June 21, 2022

While I had no idea that was a thing, it only makes me like Collin more; the quirkiness and relatability are fantastic qualities, on and off the course.

Now, back to the two that play this week, Spieth and Cantlay. Spieth looked very solid through three rounds last week but fell apart in Round 4 while playing with Cantlay. Cantlay, on the other hand, finally found form in a major championship over the weekend, as a closing 69 pushed him inside the top 15 of the event. Both are firmly in play this week, and we can scrape the one poor round from Spieth on Sunday since both he and Cantlay have performed well at this event over the years. They are likely two of the highest allocations of the week.

PGA Weather Forecast

While most of the U.S. is under scorching temperatures, that is not the case in New England, as an unseasonably cold start to summer continues this week. But it won’t come with any wind or rain over the first two days, and while rather cold for the season, the temperatures shouldn’t bother the players. Expect low scoring in these types of conditions.

PGA DFS Slate & Golf Betting Preview

Total Expected Team Pool: 76

Expected Number of Lineups Created: 300+

Total of Main Outright & Each Way Bets: 4

Total Longshots 100-1 or Greater: 5

Total Bombs 200-1 or Greater: 2

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The Travelers Championship Fantasy Golf Picks & Projections

Make sure to check out OddsShopper to get the best golf betting odds this week.

Mito Pereira

$8,700 DraftKings/$10,200 FanDuel | 50-1 (PointsBet) + Each Way

Pereira is part of a trio of golfers that are all a higher price than last week and coming off of a missed cut at or near the cut line, and all of them were part of the bad weather wave. The other two, Tony Finau and Webb Simpson, are all going to be lower owned than Pereira, but that’s a product of price rather than anything else. Im and Finau are in the upper-$9,000 range, and with golfers like Joaquin Niemann and Spieth right there, it’s easy to pass them over. However, Pereira’s ownership is a lot lower than it would be if he made the cut and had a good weekend, so it’s something to try to leverage. His one struggle last week was off the tee, as the fairways were harder to hit than usual, but TPC Cromwell isn’t nearly as demanding as The Country Club. Pereira should bounce back to form at the Travelers.

Maverick McNealy

$7,700 DraftKings/$9,900 FanDuel | 80-1 (BetMGM) + Each Way

While McNealy hasn’t posted a top-10 since the Genesis Open, his consistency has proven to be useful many times this season. His only missed cut since October came almost a month ago at the Charles Schwab Challenge, which is the last time he teed it up. He should be well rested coming to the Travelers this week, a place he finished in a tie for 30th last year in his first time at the event. His game matches up well with the course since it proves to be a more technical track, something he clearly excels at. Some of his best performances and finishes have come on similar layouts. McNealy is also going to be slightly lower owned than normal; given the chalk of the range, Brendan Steele is the exact same price as him this week.

Eytan Shander and Ben Rasa give a full preview for this week’s tournament and go over all of best Travelers Championship golf bets.

Golf Betting Longshots

These golfers will get between 10% and 20% allocation this week and be a part of the pre-tournament betting card.

Mackenzie Hughes

$7,400 DraftKings/$9,100 FanDuel | 125-1 (BetMGM) + Each Way

It hasn’t been the best year for Hughes, coming off of the best season of his career last year. But he is in the midst of a nice stretch that includes three straight made cuts and three top-40s, including a 24th at last week’s U.S. Open, so Hughes seems to be moving in the right direction. He’s also found success here at this event, making all five cuts and earning a third-place finish two years ago. Hughes is part of a price range where variability increases quickly, and his form seems to be coming into shape.

Aaron Rai

$7,300 DraftKings/$9,200 FanDuel | 150-1 (DraftKings) + Each Way

While Rai has only three top-15s on the season, two of those three came on short, technical layouts that required consistent tee-to-green play. His last one came two weeks ago at the RBC Canadian Open — another short, technical track — where Rai finally bucked the bad weekend play to shoot 7 under for the weekend and move up the board. That should give him confidence, as he’s made four straight cuts now and six of his last seven. In his rookie year on the PGA Tour, Rai is firmly set to make the playoffs — ranking 74th right now — and should continue to add to his solid season.

Sahith Theegala

$7,300 DraftKings/$8,800 FanDuel | 150-1 (PointsBet) + Each Way

After his tie for fifth at the Memorial a few weeks ago, Theegala was priced in the high-$8,000 range for the RBC Canadian Open. Now with a slightly stronger field, he’s priced back down in the value range. It’s been nine straight weekends where Theegala has made the cut, certainly finding a grove in his rookie season on tour. While he hasn’t had the year that Cameron Young and Davis Riley ($8,900) have had, a win somewhere between now and the end of the regular season could vault him into the Rookie of the Year discussion. There is no need to go overboard here, but the price is right yet again. Theegala missed the cut back here in 2020, when he was given an invite as one of the best collegiate players, but he is certainly a more developed player now than he was back then.

Doug Ghim

$7,100 DraftKings/$8,700 FanDuel | 150-1 (PointsBet) + Each Way

Ghim is one of a few golfers that is in jeopardy of losing some status on the PGA Tour and has way too much talent to be doing so. But signs are possibly pointing in the right direction after a tie for 18th at the RBC Canadian Open a few weeks ago, which moved him inside the number. With likely five or fewer starts left in his schedule this year, it’s a pivotal week for Ghim. He should be able to improve his record here at TPC Cromwell, with a missed cut in his first trip followed by a 54th-place finish last year.

Nick Hardy

$7,100 DraftKings/$8,300 FanDuel | 150-1 (PointsBet) + Each Way

A really solid weekend at the RBC Canadian Open led to a career-best performance at the U.S. Open last week. That’s on the heels of a second-place finish in Hardy’s hometown Korn Ferry Tour event, his first start back after injury. Hardy looks fit and in form heading into this week and should continue to move up the standings and reach the playoffs after ranking outside of the top 200 prior to the Canadian Open.

Austin Smotherman

$6,800 DraftKings/$7,800 FanDuel | 280-1 (FanDuel) + Each Way

While Smotherman hasn’t been able to find the top 10 yet in 17 starts this season, he’s also found the weekend in 12 of those 17 events and is working on six straight. While it’s not quite good enough to earn him a place in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup standings, he’s right within striking distance. He’s relied on his ball striking thus far, and with the green complexes being rather easy at TPC Cromwell, Smotherman could be in line for his first top-10 of the year if he can get the putter rolling.

Chris Gotterup

$6,400 DraftKings/$7,800 FanDuel | 280-1 (FanDuel) + Each Way

Coming down the stretch in his first PGA Tour event and needing a birdie in the last three holes to make the cut, Gotterup let the nerves get the best of him, doubling the last and missing the cut by 3. But he bounced back at the U.S. Open, making the cut and gaining over eight strokes tee to green for the event. With that result, Gotterup gives us a bit of hope that the projected talent is there. He gets another big-time start this week as he looks to earn enough non-member FedEx Cup points in the next few starts to either earn himself a PGA Tour card or, at least, get into the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

For more Travelers Championship golf betting picks and predictions, check out Ben Rasa and Eric Lindquist as they give their Top 3 bets this week.

PGA DFS Chalk Zone (Projected for 10%+ Ownership)

E = Equal-Weight to projected ownership
U = Underweight to projected ownership
O = Overweight to projected ownership

1. Scottie Scheffler (E to U)
2. Rory McIlroy (E to U)
3. Sam Burns (O)
4. Joaquin Niemann (O)
5. Keegan Bradley (U)
6. Davis Riley (E to U)
7. Aaron Wise (E to O) — The next step in his evolution seems to be a top-10 or better at a major championship. Wise will have to learn to play well on the weekend, not just the first two days. He no longer is a bargain in terms of DFS pricing but still presents solid upside, even given his price this week.
8. Marc Leishman (E)
9. Denny McCarthy (E)
10. Jason Day (E)
11. Brendan Steele (U)
12. Joel Dahmen (U)

Fringe PGA DFS Picks (12-17% of Lineups)

1. Tony Finau
2. Tommy Fleetwood
3. Seamus Power
4. Harold Varner III
5. Keith Mitchell

Alternates (6-11% of Lineups)

1. Cam Davis
2. Jhonattan Vegas
3. Cameron Tringale
4. C.T. Pan
5. Luke List
6. Anirban Lahiri
7. Matthew NeSmith
8. Kevin Streelman
9. Wyndham Clark
10. Tyler Duncan

Holes in One (1-5% of Lineups)

1. Tom Hoge
2. Cameron Champ
3. Chez Reavie
4. Emiliano Grillo
5. Lanto Griffin
6. Adam Long
7. Rickie Fowler
8. Scott Stallings
9. Russell Knox
10. Danny Willett
11. Scott Piercy
12. Beau Hossler
13. John Huh
14. Matthew Wolff
15. Stephan Jaeger
16. Matt Wallace
17. Patton Kizzire
18. Joseph Bramlett
19. Chad Ramey
20. Carlos Ortiz
21. Kramer Hickok
22. J.T. Poston
23. Danny Lee
24. James Hahn
25. Calum Tarren
26. Brice Garnett
27. Andrew Putnam
28. Garrick Higgo
29. Mathias Schwab
30. Charley Hoffman
31. Hank Lebioda
32. Doc Redman
33. Hayden Buckley
34. Greyson Sigg
35. Taylor Moore
36. Cole Hammer

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