THE 3,000-mile journey from Los Angeles to Connecticut will have provided many of golf’s top performers with ample time to reflect on the US Open, which ended with Wyndham Clark hoisting the silverware aloft on Sunday night.
The relatively unheralded American – winner of last month’s Wells Fargo Championship as well – held off a host of big names to seal his maiden Major triumph and thrust himself right into Ryder Cup contention.
In the end, Clark made fewer errors than anyone else around a quirky Los Angeles Country Club layout that drew a fair bit of criticism from a number of players, with former US Open champions Brooks Koepka and Matt Fitzpatrick amongst those to say it just wasn’t for them.
Rory McIlroy had no such complaints, but once more he will have left a Major venue on Sunday thinking about what might have been.
The world number three pushed Clark hardest of all, missing out on a fifth Major by a single stroke after his putter went ice cold in the fourth round, just as it did at St Andrews when in control of things last summer.
The nine-year wait to add to his Major tally goes on, but McIlroy must be feeling fairly optimistic given the way he has recovered from the abject misery of missing the cut by miles at Augusta just a couple of months ago.
Since then he has finished seventh in the US PGA and second in the US Open, with the man himself saying the door will eventually cave in if he keeps banging on it.
His next chance for glory will come next month at Royal Liverpool, the scene of his third Major triumph when he lifted the Claret Jug in 2014.
That course pedigree and his performance in Los Angeles have prompted the bookies to cut him to 8/1 favourite for a second Open Championship success, just ahead of Scottie Scheffler, who himself will have left California thinking the title was there for the taking were it not for a misfiring putter.
Both Scheffler and McIlroy have made the long journey to Connecticut to take part in the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands from Thursday afternoon, where they will be joined by a quality-laden field for the last of the PGA Tour’s ‘elevated’ events for 2023.
World number one Scheffler leads the betting at no bigger than 7/1, and that will even entice some big each-way players given his form of late, with the Texan having racked up a second and three thirds from his last four outings, which could easily have been four victories – and two more Majors – if he could find his putting touch.
Jon Rahm, who stayed on for 10th on Sunday night, and McIlroy are both priced at 10/1 and while both have the quality to go well on any given week, they have been infrequent visitors to River Highlands over the years and might just lack a bit of extra motivation here.
Certainly, I’m still shattered from sitting through US Open combat in front of the TV, so there will be plenty who feel the same having actually had to endure all that Los Angeles Country Club could throw at them.
In all, 72 players make the journey from West Coast to East, and while fatigue has to be a factor, each winner since the Travelers settled into this slot in 2016 has teed it up in the US Open, with Xander Schauffele continuing that trend 12 months ago.
The San Diego native was another who let a chance slide by at the weekend, although the fact he is a regular visitor to River Highlands means he’s not to be ruled out at 14/1.
However, of those at the head of the market, it is Patrick Cantlay who catches the eye at 11s generally.
The Californian played well for a share of 14th in LA, but was never really in the heat of battle and that should serve him well with this week in mind, although the scar tissue might come from elsewhere as he went into the final round of the Travelers last term bang in the mix before a closing 76 saw him slump to 13th.
That said, there might also be added motivation as a result, and Cantlay can really play this short, winding 6,800-yard par 70, going back to a round of 60 as an amateur in 2011.
He has played in each of the last five renewals of this championship, finishing in the top 15 on each occasion, and it would only take small things to fall his way to lead to his first win of 2023.
It should also be pointed out that he tends to play well the week after a Major, as second and third in the last two Heritages on the back of The Masters suggests.
On such a short course which offers up birdie chances aplenty, a hot putter is required to win, and Cantlay was second on the greens last week, while he will relish the poa annua surfaces here, which he grew up putting on in California.
Only Harris English performed better on the greens in LA than Cantlay, and I’m surprised to see him priced up at 66/1 given he won the Travelers two years ago.
River Highlands sees the same names – tidy iron players and good putters – come to the fore time and again, and English could well keep that trend going after finishing eighth in the US Open.
He hung around the leaderboard all week before a shocking start on Sunday ended what chance he had of Major success, and the fact he fought back bodes well for this week.
English’s irons were a bit off in LA, but he was excellent in that regard on his way to third at Quail Hollow and 12th in the Charles Schwab last month and, with his putter working superbly, the 66/1 quoted by Sky Bet has to be snapped up.
Tom Kim finished alongside English in a share of eighth on Sunday night, and while he is making his debut at River Highlands, there are plenty of reasons to suggest he can take to it.
The emerging star from Korea won both the Wyndham Championship and the Shriners last year at the first attempt, and this layout looks perfect for him given it won’t expose the lack of power that can hold him back on longer courses.
Kim snapped out of a poor spell over the weekend in LA when crucially he found his putting stroke again, while his brilliant approach play will be accentuated at River Highlands.
The cocky youngster could easily go close to a third PGA Tour win and is very attractive at 40/1 with Paddy Power.
Finally, I’ll take a chance that Eric Cole will like this test, and he is definitely worth a look at 125/1 with William Hill.
The PGA Tour rookie has recorded a number of impressive results in 2023, finishing second in the Honda Classic, fifth in the Mexico Open and sixth in the RBC Canadian Open just 10 days ago.
He is a fine approach player, but all of those good weeks have primarily been based on superb putting, while the fact he can be wild off the tee should be negated here with driver largely staying in the bag on a short course.
Cole grew up in California so will feel right at home on poa annua greens, and I’ve seen far worse bets at such big odds.
TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Patrick Cantlay, e/w, 11/1 (General);
Harris English, e/w, 66/1 (Sky Bet);
Tom Kim, e/w, 40/1 (Paddy Power); top Asian player, 5/1 (Paddy Power);
Eric Cole, e/w, 125/1 (William Hill); top-20 finish, 11/2 (Paddy Power);
