clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Travelers Championship: Fantasy Expert Picks

A group of golfers with recent missed cuts make up the selections for this week

Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

What: Travelers Championship
When: June 22nd -€” 25th
Where: TPC River Highlands
2016 Winner: Russell Knox (-14)
Purse: $6.8MM ($1.2MM to winner)

Course: TPC River Highlands. Designed in 1928 (Robert Ross and Maurice Kearney) and later remodeled by Pete Dye (1982) and Bobby Weed (1989), this 6,841, par 70 course recently went through a makeover with some modifications to bunkers, tee boxes and greens. This might appear as a different course for golfers where they will see bigger greens with more pin positions, improved bank edges and drainage through the course. The course has a mixture of length, short, bunkers, rolling hills and lakes spread throughout, to sum it up, it's a bit of everything. The final four holes stretch across a four acre lake and serve as the make or break holes for this course.

A Golfer.
Jason Day. 4th in the Official World Golf Rankings, 1st in strokes gained around the green and 29th in strokes gained total. His 2017 season has oscillated from Missed Cuts to top 15 finishes often in back to back weeks. This is important as he has he has the following results off his last 5 missed cuts: MC, 9th, 11th, 5th and 60th (he missed the cut at the US Open last week) Beyond his strong rebounds after a missed cut, his last play here netted a 18th place finish.

B Golfers:
Charley Hoffman. He is quietly sneaking up as one of the more consistent golfers this year. He's made 7 straight cuts with 3 top 25 finishes during that time. He is 36th in strokes gained tee to green, 12th in strokes gained off the tee. He finished 25th in 2016, 26th in 2014 and 7th in 2013.


Bubba Watson. Here are his last 7 tournaments, tell me if you see a trend in every other tournament:
Arnold Palmer Invitational -€” 34th
World Golf Championship -€” Dell Technologies -€” 9th
Masters Tournament -€” Missed Cut
Zurich Classic of New Orleans -€” 5th
The Players Championship -€” Missed Cut
The Memorial Tournament -€” 6th
US Open -€” Missed Cut
Travelers Championship -€” Top ten finish??
It's not just the trend that has me thinking this, it's also his solid record here with a 25th place finish in 2016, 1st in 2015, 31st in 2014 and 4th in 2013.

C Golfer.
Graham Delaet. A tumultuous last 10 tournaments for the Boise State grad who has 4 missed cuts and 3 top ten finishes over that time. His driving and putting have been excellent as he sits 16th in strokes gained off the tee and 20th in strokes gained putting. He finished 4th here in 2015, 51st in 2014 and 3rd in 2013.

Dark Horse:
Byeong Hun An. Much like Bubba Watson, he has a good track record after Missed Cuts. The first tournament after his last 5 missed cuts: 2nd, Missed Cut, 11th, 11th and 8th.  Prior to missing the cut at the US Open he had 3 consecutive top 25 finishes. He is 20th in strokes gained off the tee, 15th ins trokes gained approaching the green, 15th in strokes gained tee to green and 30th in strokes gained total.

Current Stats on picks so far this season:
A Golfers: Avg finish 44th (34th percentile)
B Golfers: Avg finish: 46th (34th percentile)
C Golfers: Avg finish: 54th (41st percentile)
Sleepers: Avg finish 46th (35th percentile)
2017 average 133 golfers per tournament.