RADIO
As the 2023 PGA Tour season continues, many of the best players in the world head to Cromwell, Connecticut for the Travelers Championship. Once again, the Tour has deemed an event with "elevated status" following the week of a major championship, which means that the vast majority of the world's best golfers will be teeing it up this week.
In this article, you will find my 2023 Travelers Championship Power Rankings, which dives into the top 10 golfers who are primed to make a significant impact in this year's edition of the popular Connecticut event. From seasoned veterans to rising stars, these players have demonstrated exceptional form in 2023 and should be considered serious contenders at TPC River Highlands this week.
Hopefully, these rankings provide some insight into the current landscape of the PGA Tour and the upcoming tournament. Players have been evaluated on recent performances, statistical analysis, and course history. With an elite field of competitors, including major champions and previous Travelers Championship winners, this elevated event promises to be a terrific tournament.
#10. Russell Henley
We'll open this week's Power Rankings with Russell Henley, a player that rarely seems to get the attention he deserves.
Far from a superstar, Henley is a pro's pro, that consistently produces rock-solid outings throughout the schedule. TPC River Highlands has been very kind to him, as he's made the cut in three of his last four Travelers starts, posting a T6 in 2018 and a T19 in '21.
Henley comes in with sneaky-good form, having posted top-25 results in six of his last seven starts this year.
#9. Harris English
The 2021 Travelers Championship winner continues to work his way back into form this year after undergoing hip surgery in ‘22. English has yet to regain the elite consistency he displayed prior to the injury, though he’s flashed his upside on multiple occasions this year, including top-five finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Wells Fargo Championship.
English heads to TPC River Highlands off yet another impressive performance at the U.S. Open, where he battled mightily at LACC en route to a strong finish. In addition to his victory in the '21 Travelers, the UGA alum posted a solid T19 in last year's edition.
#8. Wyndham Clark
It's tough to ignore the man that's arguably playing as well as anyone in the world over the past few months. While the U.S. Open is still in doubt as of this writing, Clark is squarely in contention to win his first major championship. This performance comes on the heels of a breakthrough win just over a month ago at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Clark has always possessed the tools needed to be a superstar on the PGA Tour. He ranks seventh on the Tour this season in Driving Distance (314.0 Yards), while also being one of the better putters in the game (49th SG: Putting). It's a potent combination for success in the modern game, but Clark's jump into hyperdrive this year can be traced directly to the spike in his iron play. The Oregon alum grades out fourth in this week's field in Strokes Gained: Approach over his last 24 rounds. He recorded a T15 in the 2019 edition of the Travelers.
#7. Tommy Fleetwood
The popular Englishman heads to Cromwell with a full head of steam. Fleetwood fired a brilliant final-round 63 at LACC to power up the U.S. Open leaderboard.
It was no fluke, as "Fairway Jesus" has been knocking on the door of a win for what feels like forever. Fleetwood logged a T3 at the Valspar early this year, and most recently recorded a T5 at the Wells Fargo before dropping a heartbreaker to Nick Taylor in a playoff at the RBC Canadian Open.
He's been a picture of consistency, gaining strokes T2G and making the cut in every start of 2023, save an outlier missed cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Fleetwood is a terrific fit for this week's layout and scored a T13 in the 2019 edition of the Travelers.
#6. Viktor Hovland
The rising star hasn’t been an annual entrant in the Travelers, which does raise some questions as to how much he cares for this TPC River Highlands layout. Hovland last teed it up at the Travelers in the 2020 COVID edition of the event, posting a T11 result.
He comes in as a much-improved player and just weeks removed from the biggest victory of his career at the Memorial. Hovland put forth a solid, if unspectacular, showing at the U.S. Open, and has been one of the PGA Tour’s premier ball-strikers this season. The Norwegian grades out fourth among this week’s entrants in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.
#5. Patrick Cantlay
The Californian appeared stuck in neutral at Los Angeles Country Club, though he did hang tough to grind out a very respectable result in the U.S. Open.
The 31-year-old shared some grumblings with the media about his apparent dislike for LACC, but Cantlay should have no such qualms with TPC River Highlands, as he’s shown an affinity for the Hartford track by finishing inside the top-15 in five consecutive Travelers starts. While he’ll likely leave Los Angeles frustrated that he’s still without a major championship, this is the type of event in which Cantlay has traditionally flourished, and we can expect a strong performance this week.
#4. Jon Rahm
The Spaniard arrives at TPC River Highlands in what could be considered a slump by his lofty standards. After starting 2023 at a breakneck pace that included four wins and his second career major championship title victory at the Masters, Rahm has cooled a bit in recent weeks.
While the big Spaniard is still striking the ball beautifully from a statistical standpoint, his finishes have slumped due to a short game that hasn’t been quite as tight as it was earlier in the year.
Rahm has not been a frequent flyer at TPC River Highlands, teeing it up in the Travelers just once over the last five years, a 2020 start that resulted in a T37. Despite his waning results of late and lack of event history in the Travelers, Rahm has the ability to win any time he tees it up, and should be respected as such.
#3. Xander Schauffele
The defending Travelers champion shouldn’t be counted out as a legitimate threat to go back-to-back at TPC River Highlands. Schauffele is one of golf’s steadiest competitors and his game has few, if any, real weaknesses. He was firing on all cylinders en route to victory at last year’s Travelers, gaining 8.4 strokes tee-to-green and 7.9 strokes with the putter.
The perma-steady Schauffele was unsurprisingly a factor at the U.S. Open, firing a record opening-round 62 before struggling in the third round at LACC. Still, the California can take lots of positives from his performance in the year's third major championship and should arrive in Connecticut feeling great about his title defense.
#2. Scottie Scheffler
The talented Texan continues to impress with his historical T2G output. It's no surprise that Scheffler's ball striking put him firmly in the mix at the U.S. Open.
The Texan’s history at the Travelers is surprisingly mediocre, though he has improved his finishing position in every trip to Hartford and posted a career-best T13 in last year’s edition.
Scheffler is putting together a Tiger-in-his-prime type of season from tee-to-green with a cold putter sticking out as the only thing holding him back from more wins in 2023. That will eventually change and he's a very serious threat to win every time he tees it up.
#1. Rory McIlroy
With the outcome of the U.S. Open still in doubt as I write this, it will be interesting to see how Rory McIlroy emerges from the scuffle at LACC.
No matter the outcome, McIlroy sits atop our Travelers Championship Power Rankings due to his trending form, consistent output over the past month, and rock-solid history at TPC River Highlands.
McIlroy hasn't made the trek to Connecticut an annual pilgrimage, though he's teed it up in the Travelers on three occasions, logging predictably-good results of T19-T11-T12.
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