Paulie’s Picks: 2023 Travelers Championship

Fresh off of a Wyndham Clark victory at 85/1, let’s continue the hot streak this week as the PGA Tour heads to Cromwell, CT for the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. This course will be a welcome sight for players looking to go low, as we should see a winning score around 18-under on the par-70 layout. TPC River Highlands puts a strong emphasis on short irons, especially 150 to 175 yards, and doesn’t require massive distance off the tee. The recipe is simple this week: be above average with short irons and catch a hot putting week. Let’s take a look at three players to target this week:

Tommy Fleetwood $9,300

Fleetwood has quite a stigma attached to him for not winning on the PGA Tour. But he has won multiple times worldwide and has had a bit of bad luck when it comes to close calls with victory on the PGA Tour. He is due to win on the PGA Tour and this week may be it. In the last two weeks, Fleetwood lost in a playoff at the Canadian Open and then finished fifth at the U.S. Open after shooting 63 on Sunday. He finished fourth in approach at the U.S. Open after gaining over eight strokes on approach. If he can carry over that strong iron play to this week, he has a great chance to contend.

Tom Kim $8,100

This is a criminally low price for Tom Kim. Yes, if you look at his results over the last few months, they have been underwhelming. But he has been dealing with a wrist injury. Last week at the U.S. Open was the first time we saw him fully healthy with no KT tape on his wrist. He had one of his best results of 2023, finishing eighth. His elite iron play returned to pre-injury form, ranking fourth in the field that featured all of the top players in the world. He now heads to a course that should suit him very well–when we exclude injury-riddled rounds, he ranks ninth in approach overall and third from 150 to 175 yards. This is a great buy-low spot as he looks very close to returning to the form that saw him win two events in a four-event span in 2022.

Si Woo Kim $8,000

Yes, I know this field is stacked, but this is another player who is criminally underpriced. Si Woo ranks 32nd in the world and has finished top four in two of his last five events. He is a proven winner, capturing his fourth PGA Tour title earlier this year at the Sony Open. His first two wins came on Pete Dye courses so it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see a fifth title come at yet another Dye design. He ranks fourth in approach from 150 to 175 yards and ranks well above average on approach, off the tee, around the green, and birdie rate. The one thing that can hold him back at times is his putter. Since his switch to the broomstick putter, he has shown the ability to get hot with that club. This week we are on bentgrass greens, which is the type of grass that Si Woo has historically putted best on by a wide margin. He has played this event six times and has missed the cut three times but has finished top 26 the other three times. Coming into this event in good form, I expect another top-26 finish and maybe even contention come Sunday.

Past Picks: Paulie on the 2022 Travelers