Horse For The Course: PGA DFS Course History - 2026 Travelers Championship

June 22, 2026

Todd McGill's DraftKings, FanDuel PGA DFS picks for the 2026 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. Picks for daily fantasy golf based on course history.

It was as diabolical a week as expected at Shinnecock for the 126th US Open, as one of the game's relic properties spared no one from its unforgiving nature. Only three players were able to finish the week in red figures, even as the forecast brought scoring conditions in certain parts of the days that were better than predicted.

Wyndham Clark held a six-shot lead heading into the final round and would need all of them to hold off a resilient Sam Burns, who could have easily added his name to this trophy the last two years. It was quite the opposite atmosphere we're used to seeing in professional golf, as Clark's on-course past indiscretions were not received well in the Hamptons.

Many of the top players are likely looking for a week to recharge, but they'll first have to travel up to Connecticut for this week's Travelers Championship. It's the last remaining Signature Event on the schedule before the playoffs. TPC River Highlands is a straightforward test that has been a popular spot for many years, as the PGA Tour often makes major announcements about future plans in the days leading up to the event.

Horse For The Course is an article highlighting players in this week's field with elite course history and is part of our free PGA DFS content here at RotoBaller. For some of the favorite DFS plays of the week, check out the Core Four article written by my buddy, Joe Nicely, here at RotoBaller every Wednesday. It's part of our amazing PGA Premium package that includes an all-new PGA Research Station, Lineup Builder & Optimizer, and some of the best articles in the PGA DFS industry! You can sign up now using the Promo Code TDG for an extra 30% discount at checkout!

2026 Travelers Championship

With this being the last "big time" PGA Tour event left on the schedule before getting into the playoff run of tournaments, the news that surrounds this event is more notably focused on what is in store for the next season and beyond than what goes on in between these ropes. With the talk of scheduling changes, tier systems, etc., look for much of the early press coverage this week to focus on that.

This is still a high-profile week, but more because of the importance placed on it from the tour's perspective than the tournament organizers or the golf course it's held on. It's also one of the few events that makes it this far into the northeast outside of a major championship.

Everyone outside of Rory McIlroy is here to tee it up this week in Cromwell. The leaderboard it often produces is bunched and loaded with birdies. Scores routinely reach -20 under par, and while course setup leaves room for anyone to have a chance, it's been dominated by higher-ranked players over the past several years.

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TPC River Highlands

Par 70 - 6,844 | Greens: Creeping Bentgrass/Poa Annua | Designed By: Robert J. Ross/Maurice Kearney

This is one of the shortest courses that players have seen all season, which takes away any real advantage of length off the tee. Guys will be hitting shots from relatively similar spots all four days, and by week's end, the separation comes down to wedge play and putting.

This will be completely juxtaposed to last week at Shinnecock, as chaining as many pars together there meant staying in the hunt. Make too many of those this week, and players will either be packing their bags early or struggling mightily to keep up over the four days.

Finding players to like this week uses an opposite formula from what to look for in a US Open setup. While it could still produce several players who find success on both ends, there's no doubting the high amount of birdies and quality wedge shots needed to compete. Other areas of importance are SG putting on Bent/Poa greens and par-4 scoring.

Recent Travelers Championship Winners

• 2025: Keegan Bradley (-15)
• 2024: Scottie Scheffler (-22)
• 2023: Keegan Bradley (-23)
• 2022: Xander Schauffele (-19)
• 2021: Harris English (-13)

The Horse

Brian Harman

Notable Finishes: Five consecutive top-10s

It isn't every week that we have a course horse that has never won there, but Brian Harman has consistently been a part of the conversation each of the last five years. He's also played in this event every season since 2012 and has gained strokes in every area imaginable, just not all at the same time. His strongest areas at TPC River Highlands have been chipping and putting, where he has gained an average of over a stroke per round over the last five years.

It may simply be too many birdies for the 39-year-old to make over the span of four rounds, but he's proven to be able to manufacture enough scores around this place to assume he feels comfortable. If his stellar performance on and around the green can be present, it could be a needed week for the former Champion Golfer of the Year.

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The Ponies

Scottie Scheffler

Notable Finishes: 1st ('24), T4 ('23), T6 ('25)

SCOTTIE! FIRED UP!

Massive chip in birdie to get back to even par in dramatic fashion. pic.twitter.com/vIsybxVsJF

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 20, 2026

I know it seems a bit intentional not to have Scottie Scheffler as the horse this week, given his victory two years ago, but the longevity of such a long-standing event has to count for something. Even though he's been the undisputed favorite for the last couple of years, he's only made six previous starts here.

There is nothing difficult to understand as to why this place fits the 30-year-old's game. His wedge game is usually one of the strongest in golf, which can also take some of the pressure off making lengthy putts. He also shouldn't have as much worry about getting out of position off the tee, since less than driver is used on many holes.

If anyone is due for another victory after so many close calls, it doesn't get more blatant than Scheffler.

Patrick Cantlay

Notable Finishes: eight consecutive finishes of top 15 or better

Interesting development here at @usopengolf. Patrick Cantlay rolling a @TaylorMadeGolf Spider Tour X. Looks like a major equipment switch for a man that rarely changes his clubs. pic.twitter.com/eFKRSDexiX

— Alistair Cameron (@ACameronWRX) June 16, 2026

When you start talking about accuracy-driven wedge fests, Patrick Cantlay is usually somewhere near the top of the list. Sure, he hasn't won this tournament in 11 career attempts, but his ball striking consistently gives him a chance.

Over the last five seasons, Cantlay has the most even distribution of strokes gained of anyone, as all four individual metrics have averaged more than 0.420. Like most prominent ball strikers, places like TPC River Highlands allow players like Cantlay to produce scores more from their sound approach shots than from making a mile's worth of putts.

Even with a missed cut last week at Shinnecock, this venue fits the UCLA alum too well not to give him some consideration.

Xander Schauffele

Notable Finishes: 1st ('22) T13 ('24)

Xander Schauffele.

10 U.S. Open starts.

10 Top 15 finishes. pic.twitter.com/IqomSTQSa5

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 21, 2026

Having a couple of names in this piece without victories here, I figured another past champion was the way to go for this final pick. While there haven't been as many residual performances since his win here a few years ago, Xander Schauffele is a name perfectly suited for TPC River Highlands. It's another case where dominant iron play can negate many bothersome areas.

The 32-year-old hasn't performed the best around the greens at this event, but on them, he's the third leading player in the field in strokes gained putting (1.144). A T11 last week at Shinnecock showed some real promise, so a possible return to victory could be in store this week with any luck.

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