Fantasy Golf: The Travelers Championship Preview

I've always been an Adam Scott fan and still am but, my dude, you can't stand there after gagging your way to a final round 79 and describe the course as "borderline unplayable" when J.J. Spaun who was playing in the group RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU finished par-birdie-birdie to shoot 32 on the back and kick your ass by seven shots after being two behind you at the turn. Robert MacIntyre actually managed to find it even more "playable" than that as he navigated the last twelve holes in -3 to shoot 68. (See how I used "navigated" there like he was on a boat playing a wet golf course . . . you think AI is delivering that kind of gold?) 

Scott's playing partner Sam Burns was even whinier when he was denied relief on the 15th hole and proceeded to duck hook a 5-iron as if he was trying to prove the officials wrong. I half expected him to pull a "Make Oakmont Playable Again" ("MOPA") hat out of this bag as a defiant act of the aggrieved man that he was. He then stomped up the fairway in a huff and drove his point home by making double. 

Burns showed yet again why some good players win majors and some don't. He had the lead heading into the back nine, made birdie on ten and then played the last eight holes in +6. If he plays them even or better like Spaun and MacIntyre did, he finishes -2 and wins the tournament. As it stands, he's now played nineteen majors with two top tens and six missed cuts. He may just have to settle for being the best player in Valspar Championship history.  

GOLF ANALYSIS

Last week's pick were a bit of a wreck but I have a feeling I wasn't alone in misfiring on what ended-up being an unpredictable leaderboard. Going with DeChambeau over Rahm cost me as Bryson played his last seven holes like a complete ass hat with three bogeys and a double to miss the cut by three. At least I got Russell Henley right as a top ten pick (barely) and super duper deep sleeper March Leishman scratched out a T38. 

The Travelers Championship should be a bit more straightforward as a lot of these guys have been tearing-up the current version of TPC at River Highlands for over ten years. Of the current field, Brian Harman has been the most reliable with seven top tens since 2015 including three top fives. He or Patrick Cantlay would be your low risk pick but we need to make-up some ground and that calls for some questionable decision making, a practice with which I am all too familiar. 

Cameron Young is on one of his classic heaters having finished T4 the last two weeks and he shot a 59 here last year. Also, unlike some people, he has six top tens in majors and is in a two-man class with Denny McCarthy for the player most due to get his first win. So he's our guy even though we all know Scottie Scheffler is probably going to take out his frustration from last week and plow through this field like a John Deere X9 Combine (I can't help myself).   

The player most due for any win is Xander Schauffele who is creeping-up on a year since he got it done at the British Open. He hasn't really been close this season which was derailed for a couple months by an injury but  now he's +1600 against a limited field on a course where he won three years ago. At those odds you have to start thinking he's a good pick every week until the inevitable occurs. In other words, just keep throwing money at the problem.  

Place	Player	Odds
Winner	Xander Schauffele	+1600
Top 5	Sepp Straka	+500
Top 10	Cameron Young	+330
Top 10	Brian Harman	+450
Top 20	Bud Cauley	+190

One and Done Pick: Cameron Young

Cam is as stoic on the course as 
I am not. I can feel the chemistry.

Other Guy I'd Pick: Shane Lowry

Sleeper Pick: Bud Cauley

DraftKings Top Ten Values

Scottie Scheffler	$13,300
Xander Schauffele	$10,800
Sepp Straka	$9,200
Robert MacIntyre	$8,400
Shane Lowry	$8,300
Sungjae Im	$7,900
Cameron Young	$7,800
Brian Harman	$7,200
Max Greyserman	$6,900
Bud Cauley	$6,800

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THE DETROIT STYLE PIZZA

HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE CHART 

This week's chart is named for a food that I never even knew existed a week ago but now it may change my life and force me to buy all new khakis. Holy shit. Detroit has their own pizza style. . . who knew?  

Justin Thomas is a logical pick based on top tens the last two years and the rut he's found himself in since the PGA Championship (MC-T31-MC) might actually be a good thing considering he won the RBC Heritage the week after a meandering T36 at the Masters. Tom Kim is another slumper who's worth a look (yes just making-up words now . . . time to go home). 

	DK Price	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Scottie Scheffler	$13,300	1st	T4	T13	T47	MC
Rory McIlroy	$11,500	DNP	T7	T19	DNP	T11
Xander Schauffele	$10,800	T13	T19	1st	DNP	T20
Collin Morikawa	$10,200	T13	MC	DNP	DNP	MC
Patrick Cantlay	$9,800	T5	T4	T13	T13	T11
Ludvig Aberg	$9,600	T27	T24	DNP	DNP	DNP
Justin Thomas	$9,300	T5	T9	DNP	DNP	MC
Sepp Straka	$9,200	T23	T38	MC	T10	MC
Sam Burns	$9,100	T55	DNP	MC	T13	T24
Viktor Hovland	$9,000	T20	T29	DNP	DNP	T11
Tommy Fleetwood	$8,900	15th	MC	T46	DNP	DNP
Russell Henley	$8,800	T48	T19	DNP	T19	T32
Corey Conners	$8,700	T27	T9	DNP	DNP	MC
J.J. Spaun	$8,600	DNP	MC	MC	T47	MC
Keegan Bradley	$8,500	T39	1st	T19	MC	MC
Robert Macintyre	$8,400	T16	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Shane Lowry	$8,300	T9	T19	DNP	DNP	T60
Jordan Spieth	$8,200	T63	DNP	MC	DNP	T54
Hideki Matsuyama	$8,100	T23	T13	DNP	DNP	DNP
Ben Griffin	$8,100	67th	MC	DNP	DNP	DNP
Sungjae Im	$7,900	T3	T29	DNP	DNP	T58
Taylor Pendrith	$7,900	T23	MC	DNP	DNP	DNP
Cameron Young	$7,800	T9	T60	DNP	DNP	DNP
Si Woo Kim	$7,800	T31	MC	MC	MC	T11
Tony Finau	$7,700	T5	T45	T13	MC	MC
Harris English	$7,700	T63	T60	T19	1st	DNP
Adam Scott	$7,600	T39	T19	DNP	T13	DNP
Maverick McNealy	$7,600	DNP	DNP	MC	T30	DNP
Aaron Rai	$7,500	DNP	T24	T40	DNP	DNP
Daniel Berger	$7,500	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Akshay Bhatia	$7,400	T5	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Luke Clanton	$7,400	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
J.T. Poston	$7,300	T55	MC	T2	DNP	MC
Min Woo Lee	$7,300	DNP	T9	DNP	DNP	DNP
Brian Harman	$7,200	T9	T2	T8	T5	MC
Rickie Fowler	$7,200	T20	T13	MC	MC	DNP
Tom Kim	$7,100	2nd	T38	DNP	DNP	DNP
Mackenzie Hughes	$7,100	T36	W/D	T25	T76	T3
Harry Hall	$7,100	DNP	T56	DNP	DNP	DNP
Denny McCarthy	$7,000	T31	T7	MC	T73	W/D
Jason Day	$7,000	T44	T45	MC	T10	T46
Ryan Fox	$7,000	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Matt Fitzpatrick	$6,900	T36	T49	DNP	DNP	DNP
Nick Taylor	$6,900	T42	DNP	DNP	MC	DNP
Max Greyserman	$6,900	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Wyndham Clark	$6,800	T9	T29	T35	MC	MC
Thomas Detry	$6,800	T55	MC	DNP	DNP	DNP
Tom Hoge	$6,800	T3	T60	MC	T66	T37
Bud Cauley	$6,800	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	W/D
Ryan Gerard	$6,700	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Andrew Novak	$6,700	DNP	MC	T46	DNP	DNP
C. Bezuidenhout	$6,600	T23	MC	MC	DNP	DNP
Michael Kim	$6,600	DNP	T38	DNP	MC	MC
Sam Stevens	$6,600	DNP	MC	DNP	DNP	DNP
Max Homa	$6,500	T61	MC	DNP	MC	MC
Stephan Jaeger	$6,500	T31	T64	MC	DNP	DNP
Alex Noren	$6,500	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Kevin Yu	$6,400	DNP	T49	DNP	DNP	DNP
Jacob Bridgeman	$6,400	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Davis Thompson	$6,400	DNP	MC	DNP	MC	DNP
Byeong Hun An	$6,300	W/D	MC	DNP	MC	T46
Gary Woodland	$6,300	DNP	T33	DNP	DNP	MC
Matti Schmid	$6,300	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Lucas Glover	$6,200	T44	MC	T70	DNP	T20
Cam Davis	$6,200	T48	T33	T56	DNP	MC
Eric Cole	$6,200	T48	T24	DNP	DNP	DNP
Austin Eckroat	$6,100	T27	T24	DNP	T47	DNP
Mattieu Pavon	$6,100	T16	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Adam Hadwin	$6,100	T27	DNP	DNP	MC	DNP
Joe Highsmith	$6,000	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Nick Dunlap	$6,000	66th	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Brian Campbell	$6,000	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP