Travelers Championship 2018
Key Stats for : SG: Approach / SG: Off the Tee / DraftKings Points Gained / SG: Around the Green
Lock of the week:
Ryan Moore $9,000 - Moore is a prototypical course horse at TPC River Highlands for the Traveler’s Championship. He’s gained 25 strokes total over the last five years at this event. Having missed the US Open last week, Moore’s likely well rested and coming off some solid form. The UNLV product ranks 1st in SG: App, 5th in SG: OTT, and 14th in DK Points over the last 12 rounds on the PGA Tour. We love Moore in GPP and cash lineups. We’re very interested in the middle tier range on DK this week. Typically, about 50% of guys that play the US Open, make the cut the week after. If you’re paying up for the big guys above $10K, you need more certainty and return on investment.
Value Plays:
Webb Simpson $9,100 - This year’s Players Championship winner landed another T10 last week at the US Open proving his 2018 season is still running hot. Couple that with the 22 strokes gained total at this course in the last five years, and you’ve got another lock to play well at TPC River Highlands. Webb is 8th in DK Points and 4th in SG: ATG over the last 12 rounds on the PGA Tour. He and Moore will likely be highly owned in GPP contests, but we won’t care. You could do worse for yourself starting cash games with the law firm of Moore & Simpson this week too...
Patrick Cantlay $8,400 - The young ball striking phenom takes an increase in price after finishing a meager T45 at Shinnecock last week, likely disappointing a few people. We think Cantlay could come in a little under the GPP radar as a result, and we’ll be all over him as a result. When you have a player that hits the ball as consistently tee to green as Cantlay, you can almost play him every week as long as he’s flashing any sort of form. We’re really only waiting on the putts to drop. He’s 26th in this field in SG: APP, 24th in DK Points, and 7th in SG: ATG over the last 12 rounds on his way to gaining 15 strokes total in the last six weeks. Cantlay GPP ownership at 15% or below is exposure we want heaps of if we get the chance.
Russell Knox $8,000 - The Scottsman and Travelers champion from 2016 is in sneaky good form lately gaining 18 strokes total in the last six weeks and in his last five attempts at TPC River Highlands. He’s a short-knocker that welcomes a track under 7,000 yards like your dog welcomes you home after a one night stand. His T12 at the lengthy Shinnecock Hills speaks to his form and ability to grind with the best players in the world. The iron play is what’s really peaking at the moment along with the ever-steady short game. We’ll roll with Russell in GPP and cash game contests.
Best bargain basement option:
CT Pan $7,600 - So, we’re not YUGE fans of the bottom part of this field as evidenced by our “bargain basement” guy being $7,600. However, we do plan on partaking large shares of Cheng Tsung this week to finish out our more balanced lineups in GPPs and cash. For a guy at $7,600 and likely low owned in GPPs, he’s 36th in SG: APP, 13th in SG: OTT, 33rd in DK Points, and 54th in SG: ATG over the last 12 rounds in this field. Oh yea, and his recent finishes are trending in the right direction with a T46, T32, T20 and T18 most recently at the St. Jude. Finally, CT appears to enjoy him some TPC River Highlands as he’s finished T8 and T25 in his only two starts. Bome.
Player to Avoid:
Rory Mcllroy $10,900 - Russell Knox, Ken Duke and Kevin Streelman are three winners of this event in the last five years. This event is wide open due to setup. Plus, the value in the upper and middle range on DraftKings presents a nice opportunity for a well-rounded lineup where you’re ok avoiding the expensive tier up top. Rory’s first attempt at TPC River Highlands came last year as he finished T17 while in much better form than currently. He’s missed two of his last three cuts on the PGA Tour while looking quite out of sorts on the putting surfaces. It’s an easy fade when you look at pricing, value, current form and history. At that price, you need Rory to finish T10 or better in DK scoring to return value.
