SnoTapWI PGA Tour Preview: Travelers Championship

The PGA heads to Connecticut for the Travelers Championship. This is the tournament that was on the original schedule. But with no U.S. Open last week, there are big-name players all over here. When will the trend of big-name players slow down? Is four weeks the limit or will they keep playing due to the high ratings plus need for FedEx Cup points? Regardless, it is a welcomed sight to see all of the top golfers playing. It should be a fun weekend just like the last two.
The Course
Another week, another short course. This is a little different than what we saw last week though. People can get crazy off the tee box and make some big drives. There is no need to be conservative. Bubba Watson, who we will talk about in a second, has won this tournament three times. That is a great example of how a big hitter can succeed at this tournament. The course is a Par 70 with two par fives in total.
Golfers to watch
Brooks Koepka – To me, all eyes are on Brooks this week. Koepka quoted that he was ‘dialed in’ getting ready for this tournament. Koepka shared the lead at one point on Sunday. He needs to keep pushing his way up the FedEx Cup standings. He can handle short courses. Brooks hasn’t missed a cut here going 4/4 and notched two top 20’s. Don’t be surprised if he’s taking this home on Sunday.
So this sucks, Brooks is no longer playing due to his caddy having COVID-19. That is a bummer to say the least. It went out on social media due to a busy start to my day. I should have bumped it out. Thanks to @LosingGolfBets and Murph for calling that out to me. I truly appreciate it.
Bubba Watson – You have to put Bubba a part of this thing. He is too good not to pass up here. Watson owns this course, and when he owns a course, he usually plays well no matter what. Watson has won three times at this course. He is playing well too which helps. Watson seems like a surefire lock to finish at least top 10.
Sungjae Im – Call this the ‘Webb Simpson Effect.’ Last week, people loved Im and thought he could contend at the RBC Heritage. He surprisingly gets cut which doesn’t happen often to the young workhorse. Getting a refresh for a couple of days will do Im some good. He can be right towards the top of the leaderboard again like nothing happened last week.
Justin Thomas – He is knocking on the door. When JT is hot, you have to pay attention. He is so close to putting it all together. Two weeks ago, he struggled on Sunday. This week, he found everything on Sunday but a bad first round likely plagued him. He has a couple of top tens here and it wouldn’t surprise me if he notches another one.
Prediction
With Brooks not being there, I’m going to take JT. Sungjae would be interesting here, but JT is on a heater right now so I don’t expect him to stop.
Charlie