The Cheat Sheet provides DraftKings fantasy golf players with course info, player history, and the most noteworthy trends of the week to help them with their roster selections.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700K Sand Trap [$200K to 1st]

The Field

The Travelers has almost always been held the week after the U.S. Open, and this year will be no different. Most of the top players in the OWGR are in attendance, as the event has PGA TOUR signature status and will feature a reduced field with NO cut. The event also tends to rank highly among players for its hospitality, and the fun course setup is a good way to unwind for the pros after what is always a grueling U.S. Open.

As of writing, the field is set at 72 players, though there is always the potential for withdrawals as the week progresses. Four sponsor exemptions for this event were given out, with Ben James, Tony Finau, Keith Mitchell, and 2017 Travelers champion Jordan Spieth all gaining entry.

Some players coming in off disappointing U.S. Open results include Viktor Hovland and Patrick Cantlay, who both missed the cut last week at Shinnecock. Tommy Fleetwood is also in the field who blew this event last year on the final hole, losing out to Keegan Bradley, who won his second Travelers Championship last season. 

For DFS, with no cut in play, there will be more ways to go about making optimal lineups this week, although the choices at the bottom of the field won’t be as plentiful with the smaller field.

The Course

TPC River Highlands—Cromwell, Connecticut

Par 70, 6,841 yards; Greens: Bentgrass/Poa

TPC River Highlands is a short par 70, featuring smaller bentgrass/poa greens and an eclectic blend of holes — it’s also the place where Jim Furyk had one of the greatest rounds of fantasy golf ever when he shot 58 on Sunday in 2016. In 2020, this venue was ranked just 32nd in terms of toughness (out of 41 ranked venues). In 2023, Rory McIlroy, when discussing the course, suggested that technology had “passed this course by” and even described it as obsolete. He’s likely not wrong.

There are only two par 5s on the course, but one of them is the extremely reachable 523-yard 13th hole, which should yield a high number of birdies and eagles. The course only has two par 5s, but it also features two very drivable par 4s, one of which is the 15th hole, that tends to play at under 300 yards most days and allows players to be ultra-aggressive, bringing in little chance of bogey or worse. There are also eight par 4s that measure between 400 and 450 yards, making distance off the tee less of an issue, but placement and short approaches more vital. Accuracy stats off the tee tend to rise at River Highlands, but the average driving distance is lower than usual just thanks to the number of holes with doglegs.

The course itself was originally designed back in 1928, but it was reworked by perennial PGA TOUR course designer Pete Dye in 1982. It is somewhat comparable to other more technical tracks around the PGA TOUR, but it does differ in some respects from older venues like Waialae CC and Harbour Town in that its fairways are extremely easy to hit. This tends to give the big hitters a little more leeway off the tee, and it’s helped players like Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson find success at River Highlands in the past. The poa greens are also noteworthy as they tend to be a surface we see only on the West Coast. West Coast specialists like Dustin Johnson, Harris English, and Chez Reavie (among others) have found this course appealing for that reason alone and taking a look at who tends to putt well on poa is a good idea if you are diving into some recent form stats.

In general, Strokes Gained: Approach and Strokes Gained: Putting stats have been the most important metrics to target here. Of the past nine winners at TPC River Highlands, only one (English 2021) has failed to gain over 4.0 strokes on approach in the week of their win. This venue is extremely short by PGA TOUR standards, so good proximity stats from 150 yards and in should also be essential to success.

The PGA TOUR attempted to make the course play slightly tougher two years ago by modifying four or five tee boxes and growing out some of the rough. It didn’t slow down the players at all in 2024, as Scottie Scheffler shot 65 or better in all four rounds and won at -22 in a playoff over Tom Kim, who opened with a 62. However, last season the winner finished at -15, the worst winning score at this venue in four seasons.

Ultimately, assuming the weather and wind cooperate, anyone who hits it well and can read the greens should be able to succeed at River Highlands. It’s a relatively simple course that has produced a broad spectrum of champions. However, when you’re looking further down the field, it’s the players who have tended to excel when the PGA TOUR heads to short, technical courses like Waialae Country Club (Sony Open), Port Royal (Bermuda), and Pebble Beach that are most likely to find River Highlands appealing. That sort of correlation, combined with good recent form on approach and short proximity stats (175 yards and in), is a great combination when looking at which players to back this week.

2026 Weather Outlook: The weather this week looks mostly benign. There are lower winds on Thursday (sub-10mph) with highs in the 80-85F range. The next day, gusts pick up a touch, and there’s a chance of rain, with a 40% chance. Overall, I’d likely want to target the later wave on Round 2 to see if they can’t finish or get out in front of any potential gusts or rain on Friday afternoon. Still, there isn’t likely to be much of a wave split unless Friday’s potential wind and rain pick up in significance.

Last Five Winners

2025-Keegan Bradley -15 (over Tommy Fleetwood and Russell Henley -14)

2024–Scottie Scheffler -22 (Over Tom Kim, playoff)

2023-Keegan Bradley -23 (over Brian Harman and Zac Blair -10)

2022-Xander Schauffele -19 (over Sahith Theegala -18)

2021-Harris English -13 (over Kramer Hickok playoff)

Winning Trends

• 11 of the last 12 winners of this event had posted at least a T31 at TPC River Highlands prior to winning.
• In 3 of the last 6 seasons that the Travelers Championship has been played directly after the U.S. Open (‘23, ‘22, ‘21, + ‘19), the winner at TPC River Highlands had finished T14 or better at the U.S. Open AND gained over 8.0 strokes TOTAL at the U.S. Open.
• In five of the last six seasons, the winner of the Travelers made the cut at the U.S. Open.
• The last seven winners (not including the 2020 Covid season) had all posted a top-five finish in the first three months of the season, in the same year that they won this event.

Winners Stats and Course Overview

2025 Winner: Keegan Bradley (15-under par)

2025 lead-in form (T33-T7-T8-T30-T18)

SG: OTT—+0.08

SG: APP—+2.7

SG: Total—+11.9

SG: ATG—+2.3

SG: PUTT—+6.8

• Dustin Johnson used a pretty familiar formula in 2020 when he won. He didn’t do anything impressive off the tee (and actually had a poor driving week for him), but ranked sixth in SG: Approach for the week and fourth in SG: Putting. This was extremely similar to the numbers that Keegan Bradley produced in his wins in 2023 and in 2025.
• 2019 Champion Chez Reavie may be a shorter hitter than both of those players, but he used a similar formula, ranking first in approach and top 10 in SG: Putting.
• Harris English was even more putter-reliant in 2021, gaining over 4.0 strokes putting for the week and also 2.9 strokes around the green. English was steady with his ball-striking but it was his performance with the scoring clubs that made the difference.
• Scottie Scheffler used an all-around approach to gain a victory but still was dominant on approach, gaining 4.4 strokes there for the week.
• Unlike last week, TPC River Highlands has easy-to-hit fairways and a lot of softer par 4s, which makes this a less-than-driver venue — and one where we don’t need to emphasize off-the-tee play. Efficiency and proximity with mid-to-short irons will be crucial.

Finding Values on DraftKings Sportsbook

Odds to win are one factor to think about when picking players (but not the only thing, so be careful putting too much weight on them). This section is going to detail a few of the players who have the best fantasy value comparative to their DraftKings Sportsbook odds of winning this week.

All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook are subject to change.

Si Woo Kim +2350 and $8,800

Comparables:

• Russell Henley +3400 and $9,000
• Patrick Cantlay +2700 and $8,900
• Justin Thomas +2900 and $9,100

Kurt Kitayama +4000 and $8,300

Comparables:

• Maverick McNealy +4300 and $8,700
• Viktor Hovland +4500 and $8,500
• Keegan Bradley +4900 and $8,400

DRAFTKINGS DFS STRATEGY

Low-Priced Flyers

Denny McCarthy ($6,200): Someone like McCarthy can always get the putter rocking early and post some good rounds at Hartford. If you’re going this low, might as well go for the highest upside option anyway. 

Jason Day ($6,500): Day has had a miserable run of late but he’s shown up and played well at this event before. He’s still an elite putter and won’t be as pressured with performing well off the tee like he is at other longer venues. 

Sungjae Im ($6,500) – see below. 

Core targets

Sahith Theegala ($7,700): Theegala has found more consistency of late and should have loads of confidence after a T11 finish at the third major. At $7,700, he looks like a great value on a venue he’s dominated in the past.

Justin Thomas ($9,100): – see below

HORSES FOR COURSES

1. Brian Harman ($7,800; best finishes: T8-2025, T5-2021, T2-2023): Harman has found himself in contention or close to the top of the leaderboard at the Travelers on numerous occasions, including 2023, when he finished T2. The lefty has posted six top-10 finishes at TPC River Highlands over the last seven seasons and is second in this field in strokes gained total stats at this venue over that period.

2. Keegan Bradley ($8,400; best finishes: win- 2025, T2-2019, win-2023): The native New Englander loves this event and was able to grab his second Travelers title in front of friends and family in 2025. He also finished T2 here in 2019. Bradley is coming in off a made cut T32 finish at the U.S. Open (he finished T33 at the event last year) so he could be in line for a big finish again in 2025.

3. Patrick Cantlay ($8,900; best finishes: T5-2024, T3-2023): Cantlay showed up to this event as a rookie in 2011 and shot a 60, launching him into contention that season. He also shot a 61 at this event in 2023 in Round 3. He’s now played TPC River Highlands each of the past seven years and finished T15 or better in all of those starts.

4. Justin Thomas ($9,100; best finishes: T3-2016, T5-2024): Thomas has finished top 10 at this event in each of the past three years. The short course puts an emphasis on great short to mid iron play, which is Thomas’ bread and butter. Coming off a T20 at the U.S. Open, he should be well rested and is certainly better suited for this week’s course than last week’s.

5. Russell Henley ($9,000; best finishes: T2- 2025, T6-2018, T11-2016): Henley finished T2 at this event last year, and he has come close to winning in Hartford on multiple occasions. He enters off a poor U.S. Open, where he finished T65, but he did win at Colonial just about a month ago.

Recent Form

1. Sam Burns ($9,300; T2-T20-T4): Burns has come agonizingly close to grabbing a win over the last three weeks. He’s been gaining big on approach, and is a great putter, so if he can recover fast, this could be his week.

2. Wyndham Clark ($9,400; win-T11-T3-win): Clark has been the best golfer in the world over the last month with two wins and a T3 at the Memorial. I only put him second because I expect the natural major championship hangover effect to occur at this event.

3. Scottie Scheffler ($13,800; T4-T12-T3): The wins aren’t coming as easily for Scottie this season, but he’s still piling up tons of great results. He’s already won at this week’s venue so if he can put last week behind him fast, another win could be coming. 

4. Aaron Rai ($7,800; T11-MC-T19): Followed up his heroic PGA win with a T11 in the year’s third major. Overall, he’s only finished outside the top 20 once in his last five starts. 

5. Sahith Theegala ($7,700; T11-T45): Theegala has now made the cut in 11 straight events, which is no small feat. He hung around nicely at the U.S. Open, ultimately putting up a T11 finish. He came extremely close to winning this event in 2024 and is in good shape to potentially challenge again.

MY PICK: Justin Thomas ($9,100)

Thomas has often found the U.S. Open to be his toughest major, so it was encouraging to see him secure a top-20 finish last week at Shinnecock. After that strong showing, we should see a step up from him this week as well. He’s finished in the top 10 here at River Highlands each of the past three years and is in good form.

While his approach numbers haven’t quite reached their usual elite standard yet, there’s little reason to doubt that his iron play is trending in the right direction. This setup at River Highlands should also be an ideal fit, with wedges and short irons expected to play a more significant role on the short setup. It’s also worth noting that Thomas’ most recent PGA TOUR victory came the week after another major (the 2025 Masters) at Harbour Town, another course where precision and course management outweighed pure power.

At $9,100, Thomas still looks undervalued, and his price seems likely to climb higher in these marquee events as the season progresses. For DFS, this makes him a good buy-the-dip option at a plus-venue for this week and potentially beyond.

MY SLEEPER: Sungjae Im ($6,500)

I see no reason to hesitate about this week’s price for Im. The South Korean, like Thomas, is regaining his best form after an injury break. Although Im didn’t perform as strongly as Thomas did at the U.S. Open, he still made the cut and is just three tournaments away from a top-10 finish at TPC Craig Ranch, on another extremely soft course.

Like Thomas, Im also has a solid record at River Highlands, finishing T3 in 2024 with rounds of 63 and 64, and also placing T29 on his debut in 2023, when he opened with a 65. As a strong putter, whose last win was at the easier TPC Summerlin, he’s a player who could surprise this week and contend again.

For DFS, his price seems unusually low considering his overall career achievements and the fact that he has multiple top-10 finishes in his last six events. I see him as an excellent boom-or-bust pick for fantasy and someone to take a look at for top-20 and top-10 betting as well on the DraftKings Sportsbook.