BlogTravelers Preview and Picks

The Buzz:

Have to say that the U.S. Open was very succesful.  Erin Hills is a great place to hold the event and it’s a very venue.  Most of the time we think of a U.S. Open course in which the straightest hitters do the best.  In most Opens, fairways are no more than 30 yards wide while at Erin Hills, the fairways were double that.  We all said that a bomber would win, sure enough Brooks Koepka is one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour.  Now he was way down our list of possible winners, we thought that either Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy or Jason Day would win, but all of those bombers missed the cut.  In a way that was a big story because it just proved a point that for the first time a bomber was favored in the U.S. Open but wasn’t able to even make the cut.  The way Erin Hills was set up was very fair, yes Brooks Koepka may of tied the Open 72 hole record with his 272 total and his 16 under total tied the Open record for relation to par.  Koepka also became the first Florida born U.S. Open champion.

The one thing that is different, for the third straight year someone under 30 won the U.S. Open and we are seeing more and more players in their 20s winning major championships.  As for Koepka, he is a very good example of the superstar of the future and I am pretty sure he will win other majors.  We also saw Hideki Matsuyama finish T-2nd, it’s only a matter of time before he wins a major championship, he is that good.  We also saw Justin Thomas knock on the door thanks to his third round 63.  So the future of golf is with it’s players in there 20s and hit it a long way.  Another thing we are seeing is great parity in golf.  Other than Rory McIlroy, I can’t see anyone winning more than five majors and that will be a great accomplishment.  In past years we could only see a possible two dozen players with a chance of winning majors, but now there is probably over 50 players in golf that could win a major in any week.  So golf in the post Tiger Woods era is in very good shape and may be more interesting since more players can win.

Tournament information:

This is the 66th annual Travelers Championship. The tournament was founded by the United States Junior Chambers in 1952 after an attempt to raise money from a turtle race the previous year failed. The Cromwell, Connecticut-based tournament was originally known as the Insurance City Open. The chief goal of the tournament since its inception has been to raise funds for the USJC’s philanthropic endeavors. In the inaugural tournament, war-hero Ted Kroll captured the crown, the second of his career. Four years later, the Insurance City Open served as a launching pad for Arnold Palmer as he notched his second win on the PGA Tour and the first on American soil in the 1956 Insurance City Open.

The Insurance City Open underwent a name change in 1967 when it became the Greater Hartford Open. The tournament’s original goal was given a boost when, in 1971, defending champion Bob Murphy donated $20,000 of his 1970 winnings to start the Greater Hartford Chapter of the “Jaycees.” The year 1973 was momentous for the Greater Hartford Open. In an effort to further boost tournament notoriety, entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., who frequently participated in the Pro-Am events, lent his name to Greater Hartford Open. Also in 1973, Billy Casper won his record fourth and final Greater Hartford Open. In 1985, the first major corporate sponsor for the event surfaced in the form of Canon USA.

Starting in 1985 the event added Canon to the its name; however, the name would be altered just three years later. In 1988, Sammy Davis Jr. was removed from the name, and beginning in 1989, the tournament was became known as the Canon Greater Hartfod Open. By 2001, the tournament had grown to previously unrealized levels. Phil Mickelson’s personal best 61 as well as appearances by Arnold Palmer and Lee Trevino headlined the tournament, which saw a record 318,000 spectators come out to watch the 50th annual Canon Greater Hartford Open. In 2004, a three-year partnership was forged between Buick and the GHO. The result was the Buick Championship. After the three-year contract expired, however, Buick decided not to renew the contract. Consequently, St. Paul Traveler’s stepped in to become the new title sponsor.

Course information:

• TPC River Highlands
• Cromwell, Ct.
• 6,854 yards     Par 35-35–70
• The TPC River Highlands has experienced as many changes as the name of the tournament it hosts. The original piece of property was designed in 1928 by R.J. Ross, cousin to the more notable golf course designer Donald Ross. The course was tied to the Edgewood Country Club. However, when the Greater Hartford Open was searching for a larger venue than its home at Wethersfield Country Club in 1982, the Edgewood Country Club seemed like a perfect fit. Before the venue was fit to host a major PGA Tour event, course renovations were necessary. The Greater Hartford Chapter of the USJC hired Pete Dye to renovate the Edgewood Country Club golf course. Dye’s finished product, known as The TPC Connecticut, hosted the Greater Hartford Open in 1984. One of the key features to the new course, especially the back nine, was the incorporation of amphitheatres to improve a fan’s viewing experience. In 1989, a re-design team that consisted of Bobby Weed, and consultants Howard Twitty and Roger Maltbie, made some additional changes. After the renovation, the course became known as the TPC River Highlands.
• The golf course itself is forgiving. The par-70 course, measuring at 6,841 yards, has a Course Rating of 72.7 and a Slope Rating of 131. The tees and fairways are a 3/8″ cut of Bent Grass, while the greens are a 1/8″ cut of Bent Grass. The rough consists of a mixture of Kentucky Blue Grass, Perennial Rye Grass, and fine Fescue cut at just over 6 inches. The 132-acre venue has 69 bunkers and five water hazards that come into play on six holes. Golf Digest rated TPC at River Highlands as one of the six best courses in the state of Connecticut. Another notable achievements for the TPC at River Highlands was that it was the 49th course to become fully-certified in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses (ACSP), which promotes ecologically sound land management and the conservation of natural resources.
• Holes No. 4 and 10 provide the biggest challenge. The fourth hole is the most difficult on the golf course. It’s a severe dog-leg right that measures 460 yards. The tee-shot requires a heavy fade to reach the fairway, while avoiding the tree-line on the right-hand side. From there, the approach shot goes into a tight green with a bunker guarding the front left. As for the 10th hole, the 460-yard par 4 requires a slight draw to the left-hand side of a tiny fairway to avoid the large fairway bunker on the right. From the fairway, the player aims for a green that is protected by a front left and back right bunker. The most famous portion of the course, the three-hole stretch from 15 to 17, incorporates a four-acre lake that is affectionately dubbed the “Golden Triangle.” Those three holes, along with the 18th, make up one of the top finishing stretches on the PGA Tour.
• In summer 2008 the new practice facility opened. The 23.5-acre facility is adjacent to the new First Tee of Connecticut nine-hole golf course that is in its initial phase of construction.
• Last year TPC River Highlands played to a scoring average of 69.67, just over a quarter of a shot under par.  It ranked 26th hardest course on the PGA Tour.  In 2015 it was to an average of 69.38, almost a three quarters of a shot under par.  It ranked as the 29th hardest course on the PGA Tour that year.  In 2014 it played to a 69.69 average while in 2013 TPC River Highlands played to a 70.25 scoring average, just a quarter of a shot over par.    So it has played easy of late.

Let’s take a look at key stats that are important for those playing at TPC River Highlands:

This is based on the most vital stats from TPC River Highlands, based on data from last year’s Travelers and using data from all the players in the field with stats from 2017.
The most important thing to realize about TPC River Highlands, its a course that is very forgiving, you don’t kill a lot of brain cells in getting your way around it and if you drive it long and reasonably straight you can win. Just look at the roll call of past champions, guys like Bubba, Russell Perry, Phil Mickelson, Kevin Streelman, Marc Leishman and J.J. Henry, guys that hit is far and go chase it for their next shot. Now this doesn’t eliminate short hitters, guys like Brad Faxon, Woody Austin and Olin Browne have won and they are not long hitters. Last year Russell Knox won, he is classified as being in the middle, a person that can give it some stick, but is in the middle of the pack.
So your first choice should be guys that hit it a long way, guys that are hot right now and guys that showed some promise at Erin Hills.
The tournament is back to it’s regular date the week after the U.S. Open, last year it was played two months later which frankly may of changed the character of the course because it was hotter than normal and the grass was more mature being later in the year. So in a way I would throw out any the results from last year, it was just totally different. Last year the field wasn’t the great because it was the week before the Olympics, so the point is things are back to normal this week.

In looking at our four categories, we have to go outside the box. Remember this isn’t a tough course, last year it played to a 69.37 average making it the 26th hardest on tour. Hitting it long is important, making birdies are important as 1,534 were made last year making it the 39th hardest on tour, not bad for a course that only has two par 5s. To score low you have to play good on it’s 12 par 4s, last year the par 4s average was 4.01, only a half dozen full field tournaments had lower par 4 averages. So our first category is Strokes Gained Off the tee because those that do well on the course does well and has big advantage. Last year Russell Knox ranked 16th in this stat Next is Par Breakers which is a combination of birdies and Eagles, you have to make a lot of them this week to have any chance. Last year TPC River Highlands was 19th toughest on tour in this stat while Knox ranked T-5th. Our third category is scrambling, that is getting it up and down when you miss a green last year the course was the 12th hardest while Knox was T-19th last year while 2015 winner Bubba Watson led this stat. Our last category is par 4 average, last year TPC River Highlands was T-31st in this stat, Knox was 10 under last year while Bubba was 12 under on the par 4s and led that stat in 2015.

*Strokes Gained off-the-tee: Combination of distance off the tee and accuracy

*Par Breakers: Who makes the most birdies and eagles per round.

*Scrambling: The percent of time a player misses the green in regulation, but still makes par or better.

*Par 4 averages: Players that do the best on par 4s.

Of the 156 players in the field, 138 have stats on the PGA Tour for 2017. For those looking for stats on Rory McIlroy, he hasn’t played enough rounds in 2017 to qualify.

Click any column title in the table header to sort columns.

Here is the link to all of the stats for the 138 players in this year’s Travelers Championship.

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at the Travelers:

Key stat for the winner:

The TPC at River Highlands is a different type of TPC course.  It was a reconfiguration of a traditional, old style course, but it still has some of that flavor.  Most of the greens are small, raised or crowned, making it a scrambler’s delight.  The tournament is well supported in the community — as many as 80,000 spectators could be in attendance this week — so the timid need not apply.  Another factor that comes into play is the fact that the tournament has close finishes every year (except of course in 2009 when Russell Perry won by three).  Since it moved away from Wethersfield in 1983, 25 of the 34 tournaments have been decided by either a shot or a playoff, including in 2010 when Bubba Watson beat Scott Verplank and Corey Pavin in extra holes.  In 2012 Marc Leishman was a shot better than Charley Hoffman and Bubba Watson.  In 2014 it was another playoff, with Ken Duke getting the better of Chris Stroud. In 2015 Bubba Watson won again in a playoff, this time against Paul Casey.  Last year Russell Knox won by a shot over Jerry Kelly, so tight finishes are the norm.

Here is a chart that shows exactly how close tournaments have been in the 64-year history of the Travelers Championship:

• Tournaments tied after 72 holes: 22
• Tournaments won by one shot: 23
• Tournaments won by two shots: 8
• Tournaments won by three shots: 5
• Tournaments won by four shots or more: 7

Here are some more key stats to look to for this week:

• So what is the most important element for the most recent past champions of the Travelers?  Putting and hitting it a long way.  Look at Russell Knox last year, his key was hitting a lot of greens, but putting was very important for him as in the 48 putts he had of 4 feet and in he made every one.  Look at Bubba Watson in 2015, he not only was the longest driver in the field, but also had the best overall putting average. Kevin Streelman in 2014, he was 1st in putting average, 8th in total putting and 3rd in strokes gained putting.  The year before Ken Duke was 1st in putting average, 3rd in total putting and 10th in strokes gained putting.  To put this into prespective, of the last ten champions in total number of putts, 6 of them were in the top-five and all of them were in the top-13, so putting well is the key to being successful.
• Hitting it far is more important than accuracy because the last 11 of 17 champions have been in the top-13 of the driving distance stat while only six winner have broken into the top-ten of the accuracy stat just once.  Last year’s winner Russell Knox was 24th in driving distance and T-30th in driving accuracy.  But in 2015 Bubba Watson was 1st in driving distance and 70th in accuracy, so driving it long does have it’s advantages.
• Playing the par 4s well is another key. Of the last 19 champions, 11 have played those holes in 8-under or better, with Notah Begay III playing them the best in 16-under in 2000. Last year Knox played the par 4s in 10 under while in 2015 Bubba played the par 4s in 12 under while the year before Kevin Streelman played them in 11-under par.
• Hitting greens will be at a premium. Just like in a U.S. Open, hitting lots of greens goes a long way in this event.  Normally you would look for the winner to hit globs of greens and last year Knox did it hitting 57 of 72 which ranked T-5th.  But the year before Bubba hit 50 and was ranked T-38th.  The year before that Streelman hit 53 and was ranked T-10th.  But the previous three years the winners were poor in hitting greens, still in looking at the last 15 champions, seven of them were in the top-ten.
• Now I don’t want to jinx the tournament, but weather in Connecticut will be good all four days with temperatures in the 80s each day.