It’s only a few days since Wyndham Clark claimed glory at the US Open, but many of golf’s top stars will be heading to Connecticut for the latest PGA Tour designated event, the Travelers Championship.
World number one Scottie Scheffler is likely to start favourite after five successive top-five finishes, and defending champion Xander Schauffele has also been in solid form.
- Xander Schauffele to win the Travelers Championship
- Tom Kim to win the Travelers Championship
- Ludvig Aberg to win the Travelers Championship
Schauffele Should Lead The Charge
The biggest names are required to play in all but one of the PGA Tour’s designated events, but while that guarantees a strong field at TPC River Highlands, some of them could be running on empty.
Rory McIlroy could fall into that bracket after going close to ending his nine-year Major drought in Los Angeles last week and questions will be raised about how long Scottie Scheffler can maintain his fine form week after week.
However, one player who could defy the fatigue is Xander Schauffele, who won by a two-shot margin 12 months ago.
He flew out of the blocks at the US Open by carding an opening round of 62 and although he was unable to maintain that push, tenth place was a competent performance.
Schauffele hasn’t finished worse than 24th in his last eight tournaments and his putting has been of the required quality for him to take the Travelers test once again.
SCHAUFFELE TO WIN THE TRAVELERS
Kim Looks Ready To Kick On
After winning the Wyndham Championship and the Shriners Hospitals Open last year, Tom Kim hasn’t quite built on that in the first five months of 2023, but that could be about to change.
Kim has been troubled by a wrist injury for a while, but his performance at last week’s US Open suggests he may be over it.
He carded an opening 73 last week, but was a lot stronger in the final three rounds and his confidence should have been given a big lift by finishing tied for eighth.
A short par-70 track should play to his strengths, so expect him to make a bold bid.
Aberg Could Fulfil Promise
While the attention will fall on the big names this week, one youngster who is creating a lot of noise is Ludvig Aberg.
The young Swede has been a professional for a matter of weeks, but after taking the US Collegiate circuit by storm, he is making his mark in the big tournaments.
He was 24th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational when still an amateur in March and was a more than creditable 25th at the Canadian Open on his pro debut a fortnight ago, so we could see even better results as he gets used to playing among elite company.
