Updated

Updated · CBS Sports · Jun 23

Scheffler Enters $20 Million Travelers as 9/2 Favorite While McIlroy Skips Signature Event

Updated

Updated · CBS Sports · Jun 23

Scheffler Enters $20 Million Travelers as 9/2 Favorite While McIlroy Skips Signature Event

Q: Can Wyndham Clark's major momentum defy TPC River Highlands' history of favoring past champions?

Yes — Clark has a real chance to buck the trend, but the course history makes it a tougher ask than his recent form alone suggests. Clark arrives at the Travelers Championship in arguably the best form of anyone in the field. He just won the U.S. Open for his second major title, and his recent run includes two wins in his last four starts plus a solo third at the Memorial. He has openly said momentum matters, and his results support that. On pure form, he belongs in the conversation. The obstacle is TPC River Highlands itself. It is widely regarded as one of the more predictive courses on the PGA Tour, with a strong pattern of rewarding players who already know how to win there. Recent champions include Keegan Bradley, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, and Bradley has won twice in the last three years. That history matters on a short, strategic par-70 layout that tends to reward comfort, precision and repeatable decision-making more than raw power. Clark is not walking in cold. His course record shows progress, including a top-10 finish there in 2024 and a top-20 as well, which suggests he can handle the setup. But he is still facing a field loaded with proven River Highlands performers, including Bradley, Scheffler and Schauffele. So Clark’s momentum can absolutely carry him into contention, but winning would still mean overcoming one of the Tour’s clearest “horses for courses” patterns rather than simply riding hot form alone.

3 articles · Updated · CBS Sports · Jun 23

Scottie Scheffler heads to the Travelers Championship as the 9/2 betting favorite for the June 25-28 event at TPC River Highlands, with the PGA Tour’s final signature event carrying a $20 million purse.
Rory McIlroy will miss the tournament again, leaving Scheffler, U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, runner-up Sam Burns and defending champion Keegan Bradley among the biggest names in Cromwell, Connecticut.
TPC River Highlands is a short par-70 layout at 6,844 yards, a setup the preview says could suit accurate or creative players such as Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas and sleeper pick Aaron Rai.
Fleetwood was the preview’s outright pick at 18-1 after three straight top-11 finishes, while Thomas was tagged a contender at 29-1 and Rai a sleeper at 55-1.
The event arrives after 15 straight signature tournaments produced different winners dating to the start of 2025, even as past champions like Bradley and Xander Schauffele have strong course history here.