2025 Travelers Championship Preview, PGA Tour Best Bets at TPC River Highlands
The 2025 Travelers Championship will tee off on Thursday in Cromwell, Connecticut, a much easier course than the struggles seen at Oakmont last week. Expect scores at 20 under par this weekend, and Matt MacKay is targeting a few prop options in this opening day at TPC River Highlands.
Matt MacKay - June 18, 2025, 9:45 PM EDT
5 Minute Read2025 Travelers Championship Preview, PGA Tour Best Bets at TPC River Highlands
The 2025 Travelers Championship will be played at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut this week. It's the final Signature Event of the PGA Tour season, meaning 72 of the top ranked golfers in the FedExCup standings will compete without a cut line enforced.
Scottie Scheffler won the 2024 Travelers Championship, beating Tom Kim in a one-hole playoff at 22-under-par. Oddsmakers, per usual, have him valued as the outright betting favorite ahead of Round 1 at +300 odds. Other notable betting favorites include Rory McIlroy (+1400), Xander Schauffele (+1600), Collin Morikawa (+1800) and Patrick Cantlay at +2200 odds.
TPC River Highlands is a par 70 that runs only 6,844 yards. Four inch rough and tree-lined fairways mean accuracy off-the-tee is important. Approach shots and finding the small-sized greens in regulation is even more critical to success at this course.
Poa annua greens aren't undulated like we saw at the U.S. Open last week, so the Stimpmeter is projecting a 12-foot putting velocity, which is three-feet slower than the lightning-fast pace at Oakmont. Water hazards and sand bunkers are consistent hazards as well.
PGA handicapper Matt MacKay is back with three of his favorite best bets to place ahead of Round 1 at the Travelers Championship on Thursday. Follow Matt's X account for more PGA betting analysis and free picks throughout the 2025 PGA Tour season.
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2025 TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
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2025 TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: Thursday, June 19 - Sunday, June 23, 2025
- Time: 7:30 AM - 6:30 PM ET
- How to Watch: ESPN+, Golf Channel, CBS
PGA Best Bets: 2025 Travelers Championship
Round 1 Score - Robert MacIntyre
The Round 1 Score prop betting market typically holds a lot of value since oddsmakers haven't seen how golfers perform on the host site's course. What we do know is that TPC River Highlands averaged 66.4 in 2024, meaning most golfers in the field were getting close to 4-under-par.
Robert MacIntyre's game is trending up entering the Travelers Championship. The Scotsman ranks top 20 on the PGA Tour in total strokes gained, including 19th SG: Approach, 22nd SG: Off-the-Tee, 38th driving accuracy and 17th at finding greens in regulation.
MacIntyre is 31st scoring average, 41st birdie average and 17th on par 4s. During his debut at TPC River Highlands last year, he shot a 70 in Round 1, before going 62-66-68 to card a T16 finish at 14-under-par.
In 2025, MacIntyre ranks 50th in Round 1 scoring average. Conditions are expected to be light wind with intermittent rain, softening up the greens, which will help with approach shots and putting.
Let's bet one unit on MacIntyre to go under 67.5 (-3) in the Round 1 Score prop betting market.
- Best Bet: Under 67.5 (-110) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best First Round Odds
2 Ball - Round 1 (Daniel Berger vs. Sam Stevens)
Daniel Berger is paired with Sam Stevens in Round 1 at the Travelers Championship this week. Berger has had a lot of success at TPC River Highlands, however, he's playing here for the first time since 2019.
Berger is a tee-to-green tactician. It's his putting that is holding him back from climbing into contention. The 32-year-old Florida native ranks 15th total strokes gained, including 19th SG: Off-the-Tee, 21st SG: Approach and 13th total driving. He's also 23rd for proximity and 39th at finding greens in regulation.
Stevens is struggling with his irons, ranked 124th SG: Approach in 2025. He's better at putting, ranked 55th SG: Putting compared to Berger at 105th in this putting metric. Stevens is 94th in driving accuracy and outside the top 100 at finding greens in regulation.
TPC River Highlands is a course that Berger should navigate with relative ease. The same cannot be said for Stevens, who lacks accuracy tee-to-green. It's why oddsmakers have Berger valued as a relatively big favorite to win this 2 Ball - Round 1 matchup prop.
Let's side with Berger as the betting favorite and place a one unit wager on him to beat Stevens in Round 1 at -140 odds.
- Best Bet: Daniel Berger (-140) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best matchup odds
Birdies or Better - Ben Griffin (Round 1)
This is my first time diving into the Birdies or Better market this season. Ben Griffin will look to keep his momentum rolling into TPC River Highlands, where he has either missed the cut or placed 67th in both appearances since 2023.
Griffin has two wins on the PGA Tour in 2025 and ranks 16th in total strokes gained. This includes 37th SG: Approach, 41st SG: Putting and 30th at finding greens in regulation. It's led to Griffin ranking 26th in scoring average and 44th on par 4s.
Despite all of the success, Griffin is averaging 3.9 birdies per round this season. Oddsmakers have set his Birdies or Better prop to 4.5, leaning slightly toward under 4.5 at -125 odds.
He's 78th in birdie or better conversion rate and 51st in bogey avoidance. I expect Griffin to play a clean game with minimal mistakes in Round 1. A lot of the par 4s are relatively short in terms of distance but their greens are small, demanding precision on approach.
Griffin has an elite short game but he's 95th in driving accuracy, 93rd on approach shots from 200+ yards, 105th scrambling and 117th in putts per round. I don't think Griffin gets five or more birdies in Round 1 at a course he's historically struggled to produce low scores.
Let's bet one final unit on Griffin to finish Round 1 with less than five birdies and take under 4.5 birdies at -125 odds.
- Best Bet: Under 4.5 (-125) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best Travelers prop odds
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