The final tournament prior to the 2016 Olympic Games will also feature a thinner field than those ahead in the coming weeks. Daily fantasy owners have no shortage of value play options, with the bottom pricing tier being the most plentiful of this week's three groupings.
The early weather forecast carries few risks, with a moderate chance of rain and a potential thunderstorm for Saturday representing the lone scare.
Here's a look at the past three Travelers Championship leaderboards (* denotes a playoff):
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ken Duke* (-12) | 1. Kevin Streelman (-15) | 1. Bubba Watson* (-16) |
| 2. Chris Stroud | T2. K.J. Choi | 2. Paul Casey |
| 3. Graham DeLaet | T2. Sergio Garcia | 3. Brian Harman |
Per FantasyInsiders, the key stats for TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut are Par 4 Efficiency: 400-450 Yards (P4E), Strokes Gained: Approaches (SGA), Birdie or Better Percentage (BoB). These stats have been strengths of past winners and need to be used in combination with recent form and course history when assembling lineups.
Top Tier, Top Dollar, Top Results
Webb Simpson
Though he's without a win on the season, Simpson has collected two top-10 finishes while making 12 of 16 cuts. He has made the cut in each of his past three events, highlighted by a sixth-place result at the Quicken Loans National and a 13th at last week's PGA Championship.
Simpson last participated in this event in 2013, picking up a fifth-place finish with a final score of nine-under par. He's 6-for-6 in cuts made at TPC River Highlands, with the regular PGA Tour schedule allowing for a slightly stronger field than golf fans will see this week.
Paul Casey
Casey's key statistics for the week are led by a sixth-place rank in P4E for the selected distance of the week. Not a particularly long driver of the ball, Casey has also been uncharacteristically inaccurate off the tee, but he still ranks eighth in Total Driving and 13th in Greens in Regulation Percentage. He ranks 26th in SGA but just 74th in BoB.
He has made 12 of 17 cuts with four top-10 placings, most recently a 10th-place finish at the final major of the season. He went just 2-for-4 in cuts made in majors this season, but he finished inside the top 10 in both the PGA Championship and the Masters. He has the ability to capitalize on the weak competition, as he did last year when losing in a playoff.
Jon Rahm
Pricing and ownership levels have kept pace with Rahm's early success on the PGA Tour, but he continues to prove his worth. He last played in the RBC Canadian Open, where he placed second in a field similar to this. He has made all five of his cuts, including three top-10 finishes.
While Rahm doesn't qualify for any of the PGA Tour's stats, he gains over 1.200 strokes both off the tee and putting. He placed 64th as an amateur in his PGA debut at this event last season.
Since he turned professional partway through the season, Rahm will need a victory in order to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs, by also gaining his full tour card for 2017.
Best Value With a Chance
Soren Kjeldsen
One of six players in the field heading to Rio de Janeiro for next week's Olympic Games, Kjeldsen will make his debut at the Travellers Championship. He has made nine of 11 cuts on the PGA this season, with his two top-10 results coming at the Masters and The Open. His lone missed cut on the European Tour came at the marquee BMW PGA Championship.
He is fully capable of handling the weak field and is a bargain in the middle tier of pricing.
Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton finished 10th last week, picking up his second consecutive top-10 result in a major. It was his third consecutive top-10 finish when including European Tour results, as he was the runner-up at the Scottish Open. He has three other top 10s in Europe this season.
His previous PGA schedule included only the majors so this will be his debut at the Travellers. He is neither long nor accurate off the tee, but he gains 2.156 Strokes: Total per round, and he averages 2.83 birdies per round.
Boo Weekley
Weekley's inconsistent 2016 season includes just 13 made cuts in 22 events with his most recent top 10 dating back to the first weekend in February. He has shown some more promise of late, making five of his past six cuts and eight of his past 10.
He last played here in 2011, missing the cut. His best stat of the week is a rank of 54th in BoB, but he has finished 11th and 12th in his past two events, respectively, and his recent form makes for a solid contrarian selection with ownership sure to be low.
If Everything Goes Right
Aaron Baddeley
Baddeley's fourth career PGA Tour win came three events ago at the barely-publicized Barbasol Championship, and he followed it up with a 49th-place showing at the PGA Championship. It was his only major of the season in a year when he made 15 of 24 cuts, picking up four more top 10s in addition to his victory.
He placed 48th at last year's Travelers, opening with three rounds in the 60s before a Sunday score of 73. He placed fourth just two years ago in 2014, shooting four rounds in the 60s. He ranks 40th in P4E and 24th in BoB. His salary is surprisingly low given the nature of the field, but he could still be worth a high expected ownership.
Si Woo Kim
Kim has faltered as the season has gone on, after a strong start featuring eight made cuts in his first 10 events. His best finish of the year, however, came in his second-last event, as he lost in a playoff at the Barbasol Championship.
He ranks 74th in P4E and 84th in BoB. While not the most inspiring of statistics, he had success earlier this season, and both his salary and ownership are near rock bottom.
Brett Stegmaier
Stegmaier will have the crowd on his side as a native of nearby Madison, Connecticut. The PGA Tour rookie has participated in 26 events this season, making 15 cuts and picking up two top 10s, the most recent coming at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in June.
His best rank in a key stat this week is just 99th in SGA, but he'll need to do little more than replicate his 49th-place showing at the RBC Canadian Open in order to return value at his low salary. Despite his young age, few should be more familiar with the course.
Top Fades
Patrick Reed
Reed is one of three Americans in the field who will head to Rio following the conclusion of this week's event. Among all players in the field, he ranks second in FedExCup points at eighth overall. His high pedigree leafs to one of his highest salaries of the season in this field.
This will be his fifth appearance at the Travellers, and he has had little previous success. He has missed each of his past two cuts at TPC River Highlands, and he tied for 18th in 2013, and for 47th in 2012. Course history can't always be relied upon but it needs to be taken into account at this lofty of a salary and ownership.
Martin Laird
A victim of the poor strength of field, Laird, the 134th-ranked golfer in the world, has made just 13 of 20 cuts this season. He is coming off a second-place finish at the Canadian Open, but it represents one of just two top-10 results with only one other top 20. While there is no clear favorite in the field, there is much better value below Laird.
Kevin Streelman
The 2014 champion enters the 2016 tournament with consecutive missed cuts in his past two events, including one at the weak-field Canadian Open. He has made just 12 of 22 cuts on the season with his top result, a third, dating back to the Farmers Insurance Open.
His salary is reasonable, but he's relying entirely on course history which also includes a missed cut in 2015.