Travelers Championship 2022: Betting tips as Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler head the field at TPC River Highlands
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Updated 23/06/2022 at 14:29 GMT
The third major of the year is in the rear-view mirror, with sights now trained on the Travelers Championship. A quality field is on show at TPC River Highlands in Hartford, with the lives of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy teeing it up on a course that is known for low scores. Past winner Marc Leishman is in the field.
McIlroy: I've got one more chance this year
Rory McIlroy and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler are vying for favouritism at this week’s Travelers Championship.
Both arrive in Hartford, a short hop from Brookline, reflecting on what might have been at the US Open.
Scheffler led by two at one stage, before falling back and suffering an agonising one-shot defeat to Matt Fitzpatrick.
McIlroy was the standout performer for the first couple of days, but was let down by mistakes at the weekend before a late charge saw him come up just short.
With the Open on the horizon, this will be McIlroy’s final event before a break and then a shift in focus for links golf.
The way he has been playing in recent weeks, he could blitz the field - but at odds in the region of 10/1 the inclination is to look elsewhere.
Similar comments apply to Scheffler at a comparable price, and with those two taking a chunk out of the market there is value to be had elsewhere.
It’s a decade since Australia's Marc Leishman made off with this prize - and at 50/1 he appeals as an each-way prospect.
When he hits form, Leishman is a devastatingly effective golfer. His form coming into the US Open was not great, with two missed cuts from four starts, but he showed at the Country Club with a tied-14th finish that his best stuff is not far away.
His sights are trained on the Open at St Andrews, with the Australian keen to go one better than when beaten in a playoff in 2015, and victory this week would be a boost to the confidence.
“It was nice to play good again and be back to my old self; especially finishing a US Open with a good round and locking up my best result at a US Open,” Leishman, who has only missed one cut at the Travelers Championship in 11 visits, told Australian Golf Digest.
"I feel like I’ve turned a corner and I’m pretty excited for a big stretch of golf, with the Travelers and then the Scottish and British Opens.
"I’ve got a little bit of a bee in my bonnet about St Andrews after losing in a playoff there in 2015, so I’d love to have some great results the next few weeks and go to St Andrews really sharp."
On a course that clearly suits, the price is appealing enough to make him a selection.
Take away a blowout on Saturday, and Xander Schauffle would have been in the mix at the US Open. It was an uncharacteristically bad day, and he appeals as one to jump back on the horse and right the wrong.
Schauffele can be a birdie machine, which is what is required at TPC River Highlands, and with a trio of top threes at the course, he looks decent value at around 20/1.
Patrick Cantlay never got in the mix at the US Open, but his scores improved through the four rounds - 72, 71, 70, 69 - and he has form on the course, once shooting 60 in his amateur days. If he can get the putter working he looks well placed to challenge at 16/1.
We’ll go outside the box for the final selection at a whopping 175/1.
Matthew NeSmith’s name was towards the top of the US Open leaderboard for the first two days before he faded at the weekend.
On a more suitable track, where greens in regulation is a key factor (he’s in the top 30 on the PGA Tour this season), NeSmith is worth chancing.
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