Written by Stephen Moloney (www.twitter.com/TheCheeky9)

As the chorus of air-horns heralded the presence of a storm making a beeline for Hilton Head – thus forcing Slugger White to pull the field in off the course just as the final pairing were on the green of the par 5 2nd – the question last week’s RBC Heritage suddenly boiled down to was, “Who would emerge from the weather delay & be able to ‘click back in’ the strongest to claim the honours?”.

And, after the near two-hour long delay, it would, of course, turn out to be none other than the former U.S. Open champion, Webb Simpson, who would emerge from the deluge of birdies that rained down in the post-storm calm which descended on Harbour Town in the wake of the troublesome cell finally blowing through and be the one left slipping on his second blazer of the year in the inky Hilton Head twilight thanks to a blistering run of five birdies in his last seven holes.

Now, though, with the high of predicting Webb’s triumph at Harbour Town confined to the past, our attention turns 900 miles north-east to TPC River Highlands where, for one year only, instead of just being the traditional hangover cure for those few weary of mind who wish to play the week after the U.S. Open, the Travelers Championship takes centre stage as a Major-calibre cast descends on Connecticut for the third stop on professional golf’s ‘2020 North-American Comeback Tour’.

So let’s get into it.

Field Report

Below you will find the World’s Top 30 players as of this week. If they have an ✅ alongside their name, they’re in the field this week; if they have an 🆇 alongside their name it means they’re not in the field this week:

Rory McIlroy	✅	Tyrrell Hatton	🆇
Jon Rahm	✅	Tony Finau	✅
Justin Thomas	✅	Gary Woodland	✅
Brooks Koepka	✅	Matt Kuchar	🆇
Webb Simpson	✅	Sungjae Im	✅
Dustin Johnson	✅	Louis Oosthuizen	✅
Patrick Reed	✅	Shane Lowry	✅
Adam Scott	🆇	Hideki Matsuyama	🆇
Patrick Cantlay	✅	Abraham Ancer	✅
Xander Schauffele	✅	Paul Casey	✅
Bryson DeChambeau	✅	Matthew Fitzpatrick	✅
Tommy Fleetwood	🆇	Bernd Wiesberger	🆇
Justin Rose	✅	Daniel Berger	✅
Tiger Woods	🆇	Collin Morikawa	✅
Marc Leishman	✅	Francesco Molinari	🆇

Notable additions to the field for the trip to TPC River Highlands who weren’t at Harbour Town include:

Lucas Bjerregaard. Cameron Champ. James Hahn. Jamie Lovemark. Hunter Mahan. Phil Mickelson. Kevin Na. Scottie Scheffler. Brendan Steele. Steve Stricker. Hudson Swafford. Xinjun Zhang.

The Yardage Book

(i) Below you will find the scorecard for TPC River Highlands. For each hole I’ve listed its par and what shape best suits it off the tee (for right-handers):

Front 9	TPC River Highlands	Back 9
#1: Par 4 – Either	Cromwell, Connecticut	#10: Par 4 – Draw
#2: Par 4 – Draw	6,841 yards	#11: Par 3 – Either
#3: Par 4 – Draw		#12: Par 4 – Either
#4: Par 4 – Fade		#13: Par 5 – Either
#5: Par 3 – Either		#14: Par 4 – Draw
#6: Par 5 – Fade		#15: Par 4 – Fade
#7: Par 4 – Either		#16: Par 3 – Either
#8: Par 3 – Fade		#17: Par 4 – Either
#9: Par 4 – Fade		#18: Par 4 – Draw
Out: 35	Par 70	In: 35

(ii) Traditionally taking place the week after the U.S. Open, the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands is generally an annual four-day rehabilitation tournament for those golfers who want to play after the third Major of the year, but don’t necessarily want the same grind they’d have faced the week before. So, where the USGA would have presented them with a challenge of tight fairways, the kind of thick rough that would have farmers salivating at the prospect of how much silage they’d get off of it and lightning-fast greens that cause PTSD flashbacks every time you grab your putter for about a month after, the Travelers eases players back into ‘regular’ tour conditions with generously sized fairways (for the most part), bluegrass fescue rough that isn’t massively penal and large bentgrass greens that, whilst filled with their fair share of contours, are usually quite soft and receptive.

Given there was no U.S. Open last week, it would be interesting to see if the difficulty level has gotten kicked up a notch at TPC River Highlands this week as a result, but, personally, having seen how generous Colonial & Harbour Town have been in the past fortnight, I’d say we’ll be seeing the Travelers play in its usual fashion, i.e. lots of birdies.

(iii) As much of a tonic as the Travelers usually is, however, that doesn’t mean TPC River Highlands is without its teeth – I mean, it was, after all, completely redesigned by Pete Dye in 1982 before seeing some renovations seven years later by Bobby Weed (with consultation from Howard Twitty & Roger Maltbie).

So what exactly do these fangs look like? Well, though quite a short course (measuring only 6,841 yards), the home of the Travelers does force you to shape your ball quite a lot – whether that be demanding a certain shape off the tee or the contoured fairways causing tee shots to come to a rest either above or beneath your feet. The rough, as I mentioned, though not massively penalizing is still bluegrass fescue, so venture into it at your own peril. Given the greens are made up of bentgrass, if the conditions are right (i.e. hot with a nice bit of breeze) then they could firm up and get real quick real fast – but going on the high chance of rain throughout the week I wouldn’t bank on this happening. Plus, there are plenty of water hazards – especially on the back 9 – to beckon wayward golf balls to a watery grave and bring any momentum to a very sudden and very moist halt.

I think one of the biggest defences the course has, though, is how ‘gettable’ it appears. See, given that the vast majority of the driving holes are within reach with a good drive and wedge for some of the bigger hitters, it lures players into taking an aggressive approach to hunting down the low scores they know that are there for the taking – just look at Jim Furyk shooting 58 there in 2016. But when that birdie-fuelled ‘red mist’ descends, it can cloud a player’s judgment and lead them into making mistakes – and if there’s one thing Pete Dye knew how to do, it was designing a course that can potentially bite you if you start to get a little too greedy.

(iv) What I’m really looking forward to seeing with this tournament is when the weekend leaders get to the infamous stretch of holes from 15 to 17, which all play around the one 4-acre lake – though, oddly enough, it doesn’t have a specific name like ‘The Bear Trap’ or ‘Amen Corner’, so I shall christen it ‘Lake Placid’ … ‘The Lake Loop’? … ‘Lottery Lake’? … I’ll keep working on the name.

Either way, between the driveable par 4 15th, difficult par 3 16th and the intimidating par 4 17th, this loop of holes has the potential to completely turn the tournament on its head before players step on the tee of the gettable par 4 18th, so look to see who best navigates this stretch all four days to be in contention come Sunday night.

(v) Below you will find the top 10 and ties for the last four years of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. I stopped at 2016 as there were some updates made to the course ahead of that year’s championship – most notably changing all of the bunkers and lifting the edges of some of the greens (the 17th green was totally rebuilt, for example) – as part of an endeavour to ‘future-proof’ it:

2019	2018	2017	2016
Chez Reavie  -17	Bubba Watson -17	Jordan Spieth -12	Russell Knox -14
Keegan Bradley -13	Paul Casey -14	Daniel Berger -12	Jerry Kelly -13
Zack Sucher  -13	Stewart Cink -14	Charley Hoffman -10	Patrick Rodgers -12
Vaughn Taylor -12	J.B. Holmes -14	Danny Lee -10	Justin Thomas -12
Paul Casey -11	Beau Hossler -14	Paul Casey -9	Daniel Berger -11
Joaquin Niemann -11	Brian Harman -13	Patrick Reed -9	Jim Furyk -11
Kevin Tway -11	Russell Henley -13	Boo Weekley -9	Robert Garrigus -11
Abraham Ancer -10	Kevin Tway -13	Keegan Bradley -8	Tyrone Van Aswegen -11
Jason Day -10	B. DeChambeau -12	David Hearn -8	Brooks Koepka -10
B. DeChambeau -10	Anirban Lahiri -12	Troy Merritt -8	Marc Leishman -10
Roberto Díaz -10	Chase Seiffert -12	C.T. Pan -8
Brian Harman -10		Webb Simpson -8
		Kevin Streelman -8

The Oracles’ Fourball

Having just gotten back from the official ‘induction ceremony’ for Webb Simpson into the ‘Cheeky Nine Hall of Champions’ alongside Sungjae Im – and, yes, it was a beautiful ceremony – I can’t help but think of the wonderful Irish proverb our President – and my close, personal friend – Michael D. Higgins, chose to close out his speech with over Zoom: “Coinnigh tachtadh an brat sin síos agus coinnigh na buaiteoirí sin ag teacht” – which, for all you non-Irish speakers, means, “Keep choking that broth down and keep those winners coming.”

It was incredibly moving; it even brought a tear to several of the Oracles’ eyes – which, given many of them don’t actually have functioning tear ducts anymore, just shows you how moving they found it.

So, with the broth I dutifully downed as President Higgins held me upside-down by the ankles still sloshing around my gut and making me deeply nauseous, let’s get to the picks who I think could do well around TPC River Highlands this week.

Rory McIlroy

We’re now two weeks into golf’s return to our screens and it’s fair to say that it hasn’t exactly been the most electrifying of returns for Rory McIlroy. A non-factor come the business ends of both the Charles Schwab Challenge and RBC Heritage – culminating in less-than-inspiring finishes of T-32 & T-41 respectively – the World No.1 has shown more than a hint of rust since re-emerging from lockdown, as the peerless driving, stellar iron play and reinvigorated putting which saw him post five top 5’s in a row and firmly establish himself as the best player in the world prior to that very same world drastically changing at this year’s Players, have, at times, looked slightly “off” in the last fortnight.

So why pick him for this week then? Because for the last two weeks we’ve seen Rory playing two golf courses that, under normal circumstances (remember them?),  he’d never actually play. I mean, when he rocked up to Colonial a fortnight ago? It was his first time playing there. And the last time he found himself taking in the sight of the famous lighthouse at Harbour Town before last week? Over ten years ago in 2009. And the reason for this is that Rory knows what courses play to his strengths and which ones don’t – and, for the most part, Colonial and Harbour Town fall into the latter of those two categories. Yet, despite the fact that he wasn’t massively keen on either of those two tracks, Rory still made the cut at both events and showed glimpses that his pre-lockdown game is most definitely still there, but he just needs some steel wool to get rid of that rust – and, for me, TPC River Highlands is looking like it could be that ‘Brillo’ pad for McIlroy because if there was ever an event that he should be contending in, it’s this week’s.

Though shorter than Harbour Town, TPC River Highlands is nowhere near as claustrophobic as Pete Dye’s Hilton Head creation, so though he’ll still have to pull 3-wood or less at times off the tee, everything will be right there in front of McIlroy and far more “open” looking, so he should be able to make the most of his prodigious length by feeling more comfortable to freewheel a bit more. The fairways and greens are going to look like runways compared to what he would have been staring down the barrel of at Colonial and Harbour Town, so when you throw in the fact that they’re probably both going to be quite receptive as well, then with his driver and irons in hand I’d expect McIlroy to feel like he can “get after” the course a lot more than he could do the last two weeks – and, as we all know, Rory is at his best when he can get on the front foot with a course. And, perhaps most importantly, Rory has actually played the Travelers in the recent past (a T-17 in ‘17 & T-12 in ‘18) so it’s not like he’s walking in there cold and having to try and cram what the sightlines are off the tee or where the misses are on the greens ahead of his tee-time on Thursday.

There are, however, some questions you’d have about McIlroy heading to Cromwell. Given he’s someone who’s been playing in front of massive galleries since before he turned 18, is the lack of fans on the course having an effect on him and depriving him of that extra edge to really sink his teeth into a tournament? And, at the RBC Heritage, he was fighting something of a two-way miss off the tee, with his 3-wood going left and his driver, right; so will that rear its head again this week or is it nothing that ploughing through a bucket of balls hasn’t already fixed?

Obviously, we won’t know the answers to those question for sure until Thursday, but either way, when I see Rory McIlroy heading to a very ‘Rory McIlroy’ course in TPC River Highlands with his natural shot shape, ability to hit the moon ball and with his mind not burned out from having just played the U.S. Open the week before, I just think this could be a golden opportunity for him to get his hands on his first trophy of the year.

Bryson DeChambeau

Yes, I know … Bryson, again. But when you look at the way the California-native has, not only just clicked straight back into where he was pre-lockdown but actually improved in certain aspects of his game, it’s really hard not to think he’s capable of winning every single time he rocks up to a tournament at the moment. I mean, he landed in Colonial two weeks ago, a course that wasn’t supposed to suit him and what does he do? Finishes in a tie for 3rd after missing out on the playoff by a single stroke. He then moved on to Harbour Town, another course that wasn’t supposed to suit him and wound up finishing in a tie for 8th to make it five top 10’s in a row.

So for Bryson to head to TPC River Highlands this week, a course where he’s improved year-on-year since his first appearance in 2016 (T-47 that year, then T-26 in ‘17, T-9 in ‘18 & T-8 in ‘19) and that with his length he can easily overpower now, it should be a green light all day for him to pick up the win that his stellar play this season has been trending towards.

The barriers to that possibly happening? Really, it just comes down to Bryson getting out of his own way. Heading into Saturday at Harbour Town, he was in the final group with Webb Simpson after two really solid days of golf, but I just got the sense that he began to chase things somewhat – like he was trying to get one arm in the sleeve of that plaid jacket heading into Sunday. Of course, as we know, he then went on to only shoot -1 for that third round (thanks in no small part as well, it must be said, to not being able to buy a birdie putt) to sit on -12 heading into Sunday; and with the way the course was playing and the scoring was going, that was just slightly too far back from where he needed to be.

But if Bryson can resist that urge to use his power to start chasing when he doesn’t need to chase and play smart all four days, then if he can start rolling in putts early in the week, you’d have to think if there’s gas still left in the tank after two intense weeks, then he’ll be right in the mix again come Sunday.

Viktor Hovland

We all saw the picture of Viktor Hovland’s blister and callus-covered left hand that did the rounds on social media during lockdown as he began pounding his way through pile after pile of range balls in preparation for getting back out between the ropes – and, by the looks of it, those callus’ have already borne some fruit for the young Norwegian. His tie for 23rd and 21st at the Charles Schwab Challenge and RBC Heritage respectively over the last two weeks rank, not only as his highest finishes since his breakthrough win at the Puerto Rico Open back in February, but as two of his highest all season, bested only by a T-10 at the Greenbrier and, of course, that aforementioned win in Puerto Rico.

So what’s the secret been to this solid start back for Viktor? Well, it’s predominantly down to his work from tee-to-green (backed up by the fact that he’s currently 13th in ‘Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green’ & a decently placed 33rd in ‘Strokes Gained: Approach the Green’), with his driving and iron play giving him consistent, if not a little average, looks for birdie (60th in ‘Fairway Proximity’) and helping him avoid racking up round-wrecking numbers.

What makes me think Viktor might make a run this week, though, is his performance at Harbour Town, where he averaged 293.6 yards off the tee for the week; had an average accuracy percentage of 71.43% (which climbed as high as 92.86% on Saturday); and had an average GIR % of  73.61% (which, again, climbed as high as 83.33% in the third round).  Like, to rack up solid numbers like those at a course as tight as Harbour Town on your first competitive outing there is impressive going, and if he’d managed to sync his performance with the putter up with those of his longer clubs (he only averaged -0.273 in ‘Strokes Gained: Putting’ for the week) then he could have easily grabbed a top 10 finish

So if Viktor can keep up the numbers he’s producing with his driver and irons (even though he himself has said he’s still not quite hitting them as he’d like) and rediscover some of that magic he was displaying with the short stick last year, then with his length and ability to shape and flight the ball, he could well take a run at grabbing his second tour win.

Patrick Rodgers

Whilst not exactly a ‘household name’, Patrick Rodgers first came to my attention back in February when I earmarked him as someone to possibly watch in the Puerto Rico Open after he’d posted solid finishes at the Farmers (T-9), Waste Management (T-16) & Genesis Invitational (T-30). Though he then went on to only finish in a tie for 35th that week, Patrick followed up his trip to Puerto Rico with strong back-to-back finishes of T-21 & T-24 at the Honda Classic & Arnold Palmer Invitational respectively – which, considering how tough conditions were over that two-week spell, is good going.

So what then makes me think that the current world no. 201 can suddenly snap his winless streak at the Travelers this week? Well, it’s a number of things, really. He’s plenty long off the tee for one (currently 28th in ‘Driving Distance’ on tour with an average of 307.7 yards). His putting this season has been incredibly solid (9th in ‘Strokes Gained: Putting’; 12th in ‘Three-Putt Avoidance’; & 3rd in ‘Total Putting’). He seems to have slipped pretty seamlessly back into ‘competitive mode’ after the break, notching up a T-14 finish at Colonial and just missing the cut at Harbour Town by a single shot (after a promising opening day wherein he shot -4). Plus, he knows TPC River Highlands incredibly well having played the Travelers solidly from 2014-2018, posting finishes of T-46, T-39, T-3, T-35 & T-26 in that time.

Mainly, though, what makes me think this week could be the week for Patrick to finally get a ‘W’ on the board, is that with him turning 28 next Tuesday, it’s about that time when a golfer with his ability delivers on the potential he obviously has. Like, he’s been a runner-up three times, finished 3rd twice and posted impressive top 10 finishes at really tough courses in big events (i.e. Torrey Pines, Quail Hollow, Bay Hill & Muirfield Village) – I mean, you don’t do that if you’re not good enough. So, after seeing one of his contemporaries in Daniel Berger walk away with his third PGA Tour win at the Charles Schwab two weeks ago, I wonder if that’s given Patrick a kick to go out this week and get himself a nice birthday present by grabbing his very first. I, for one, hope it will – because he’s got the game to do it.

Title Image Photo Credit: Getty Images