“Between Bets” is an article series revealing our staff’s best wagers across the NFL, NASCAR and PGA Tour. This edition’s bets feature our favorite wagers for the Travelers Championship 2024.
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Travelers Championship 2024 Betting Picks
Collin Morikawa (+1200)
In a week when everyone overemphasizes course history, we find Collin Morikawa going overlooked. Sure, he’s only +1200 here and has a bad course history. Still, has anyone looked at how good Morikawa is playing? In his last seven starts, he has finished no worse than 16th place. He also has five T10 finishes during that stretch, including a solo third at The Masters and a solo second at the Memorial Tournament. Also, for good measure, throw in two fourth-place finishes and a 14th on an incredibly difficult setup last week at Pinehurst No. 2.
Statistically, I love how Morikawa sets up for TPC River Highlands. A few stats that I found to be correlated to success here are good drives gained (distance, plus accuracy), where he rates second in this field, and birdie-or-better rate, in which he is also 2nd in this field over the last 24 rounds. The 27-year-old also rates out in the top 10 for the approach proximities I looked at, and he is No. 6 in the field for Par-4 scoring on holes measuring 450-500. Eight of the 12 par-4s measure in at that distance this week. I’m ignoring history here and riding with the hot form of Morikawa!
Ludvig Aberg (+1400)
I seemingly discuss Ludvig Aberg every week, and with good reason: He’s the future of golf. Aberg is course-proof. He is proving it week in and week out. I once had hesitation around his short game, but that has continued to get better tournament after tournament. I was worried about his accuracy from some iron ranges; that worry is gone. It’s really hard to find a reason to stop betting on Aberg every week. He will win, and it’ll be soon and often. If we are looking for the next Tiger Woods, this just might be him.
He is in the top 10 for every metric I considered at this week, and he rates out only behind Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in par-4 scoring over the last 24 rounds. This kid makes birdies in bunches and has the chops to stand toe to toe with any of these top golfers. He is seemingly unphased by adversity on the course and bounces back better than arguably any player I have ever seen. Stay on him, my friends, he is a natural, and he will make us a lot of money over his career.
Sam Burns (+3000)
I’m staying with Sam Burns at the Travelers Championship. He showed me enough last week at the US Open to continue to ride it out. Burns continued the excellent golf mixed with completely pedestrian golf. He had two rounds of 73 and two rounds of 67 at Pinehurst No. 2 last week. He is still trending in the right direction, and we are getting four whole rounds this week with the elevated no-cut event.
Burns has not lost strokes in any category over the last 10 starts. That is the form you need at TPC River Highlands. Though Burns has not had the best finishes here, he has gained an average of 13.6 strokes per start over his career at the Travelers Championship. The best aspects I like about Burns are his bogey avoidance, ranking 10th in this field, and his strokes gained approach from 150-175 yards, rating out 12th over the last 24 rounds.
His off-the-tee game is always steadfast, which will help get him around this track that has seen some renovations and increased rough depth. The place is gettable, but you don’t want to make a habit of missing fairways. Thankfully, Burns doesn’t miss many.
Ben Griffin (+13000)
It’s been a minute since we have attacked Ben Griffin outright, but this is a course that can be had by anyone. Griffin is a solid player, but no part of his game stands out as elite necessarily. It’s just incredibly consistent.
One stat that did standout from the longer shots with Griffin is his birdie-or-better rate. He is seventh in this field over the last 24 rounds. This will be a bit of a birdie fest, so he checks the box in that regard. You need an excellent approach game, and he checks the box, ranking 12th in this field. He compliments his approach with an excellent putting game rating, where he comes in 12th as well. There just isn’t anything to poke a hole in right now.
He’s a longshot for a reason; it will take a near-perfect four rounds for him to take down one of the goliaths in this field. Still, he has the game to do it, more so than most deep plays this week. I will have a few dollars on the outright, but I will definitely also attack some of his placement props. He is playing too good to be this long.
Bonus Bets to Consider on Ben Griffin:
Other Outright Bets That are on My Card for the Travelers Championship 2024:
- Xander Schauffele (+750)
- Tony Finau (+3000)
- Keegan Bradley (+5000)
- Cam Young (+7000)
- Tom Hoge (+8000)
- Michael Thornjornsen (+25000) – You need to bet this golfer this week, even if it’s a small unit allocation or for a T10 (+1200) or T5 (+3500). He is absurdly mispriced. He is the No. 1 Player from PGA University and had good success in his two trips to the Travelers Championship before turning pro. He has legitimate winning upside! Don’t miss the chance to get him this long!
Check out all of our content for the Travelers Championship 2024:
- PropKings: Travelers Championship 2024
- PGA DFS: Travelers Championship 2024
- Between Bets: Travelers Championship 2024
Thanks for reading my best bets for the Travelers Championship 2024, and be sure to catch us live every Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. EST on the 19th Hole! Good luck this week!
*Photo Credit: Aaron Doster – USA TODAY Sports*