It’s been kind of hard to handicap golf the last two weeks just because tournaments were played in places they haven’t been for years.
The RBC Canadian Open returned to St. George’s Golf and Country Club for the first time since 2010, while the U.S. Open hadn’t been at the Country Club since 1988.
We are back to some familiar stomping grounds this week at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, CT. Bubba Watson in 2015 (15/1) and Jordan Spieth in 2017 (11/1) cashed in as expected, but otherwise, this has been a tournament for the ‘dogs lately.
Russell Knox won in 2016 at 60/1, Watson returned in 2018 with better odds at 32/1, Chez Reavie (80/1) and Harris English (50/1) have provided huge ROI over the past three years, and even Dustin Johnson’s 2020 win came with a nice 30/1 payout.
Let’s take a look at some 2022 Traveler’s Championship betting underdogs.
Jordan Spieth +2200
Right outside the top tier of favorites for the 2022 Traveler’s Championship is Spieth at 22/1.
Spieth won this in 2017 with the memorable hole out from the bunker in sudden death on 18, when he hurled his wedge and gave his caddie a jumping chest bump making him an instant fan favorite in Cromwell.
Spieth has been melting down in majors with a MC at the Masters, 34th at the PGA, and 37th at the U.S. Open, but he’s been solid in ‘regular’ tournaments.
Since the Masters, Spieth has won the RBC Heritage, finished runner-up at the Byron Nelson Classic, finished 7th at the Charles Schwab, and gotten a top 20 at the Memorial.
Denny McCarthy +6600
Two of the last three winners of the Traveler’s (English, Reavie) finished 3rd at the U.S. Open, so it’s something to consider players that did well last weekend at Brookline.
McCarthy made the move from 55th after 36 holes to a 7th place finish at the U.S. Open, and if he can keep that momentum going, look out.
Brendan Todd +8000
A lot of the metrics like Todd to contend here as he led in driving accuracy last year in Cromwell (85.7%) as well as greens in regulation (80.6%).
His big problem was with the putter as he was 10th worst, but that’s been a strength in 2022 as he is 5th in shots gained putting and 8th in total putting.
Harris English +10000
There are worse longshots out there than the defending champion, and he had plenty of practice with the eight extra playoff rounds.
English was the 12th best putter here a year ago and just played solid golf all around with only five bogeys on the weekend.
Kramer Hickok +17500
Don’t forget about last year’s runner-up, as Hickok showed an absolute mastery of TPC River Highlands in 2021. He played the par 4’s better than anybody in the field (-11) and had just four bogeys all weekend.
