Travelers Championship Picks, Props and Predictions: Betting Xander Schauffele, Cameron Young, and Viktor Hovland

SI Golf staff | Jun 18, 2025

Xander Schauffele, Cameron Young, and Viktor Hovland are among the top picks to win the Travelers Championship. / Cameron Young: Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images, Xander Schauffele: Andrew Redington/Getty Images, Viktor Hovland: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images, Background: Dick Durrance II/PGA

J.J. Spaun shockingly won the U.S. Open last week, and as you'd expect, the SI Betting Panel came away without an outright winner. Brian Guiffra gave out the sole winning bet last week, successfully cashing in on there being a hole in one recorded. Now, it's time to move on to the final signature event of the 2025 season.

The betting panel is comprised of SI Golf betting insider Iain MacMillan, Inside Sports Network Tap in Birdie podcast host Brian Kirschner, SI senior golf editor John Schwarb, FanSided senior editor Cody Williams and Minute Media VP of Betting Content Brian Giuffra.
Each week, we make picks for our outright winner, longshot, first-round
leader, favorite prop bet and winning score prediction. 

Kirschner is still the overall leader, but he has dipped to below 100 units of profit since Spaun won him a first-round leader bet back at The Players Championship. MacMillan, Schwab, and Giuffra are all still seeking their ever-elusive first outright of the 2025 campaign.

The best golfers on the PGA Tour will head to TPC River Highlands for the Travelers Championship, which has become a staple on the men's golf calendar. Distance will be an advantage, but not necessary to win at this course as we've seen short hitters find success here throughout the years.

Below are our betting picks for the U.S. Open with explanations on each below the graphic. Let’s get a win!

The SI betting team makes their picks to for this week's Travelers Championship. / SI Golf

Outright

Iain MacMillan: Russell Henley +5000 via FanDuel

Russell Henley is a perfect course fit for TPC River Highlands, a course where long distance off the tee isn't a necessity, but hitting greens in regulation is a huge positive. He's coming into this event off a T5 at the Memorial Tournament and a T10 at the U.S. Open, so he’s in good form as he aims for his second win at a signature event this season.

John Schwarb: Cameron Young +5000 (FanDuel)

Cameron Young is going to break through eventually. I haven’t bet him to win yet, but this is a spot where I’m willing to plunge. The New York native is coming off T4s at two national Opens (Canadian and U.S.) and was T7 at the last signature event (Truist), so I’m not worried about him taking on all the Tour’s best this week. I see a guy who was mad at how his U.S. Open finished and one who shot 59 last year at TPC River Highlands. That’s more than enough for a 50-1 play.

Brian Kirschner: Si Woo Kim +5000 (DraftKings)

Already a winner on a TPC Pete Dye track in his career, I think this is a great spot for Si Woo to pick up his 5th PGA Tour victory. Si Woo is hitting his irons excellently as he gained over 5 strokes on approach at the US Open last week. Although his history is not the best at this event, I know it suits his game, and I predict a very high finish.

Cody Williams: Viktor Hovland +3300 (BetMGM)

Over the last five years, three of the winners at the Travelers finished Top 15 at the U.S. Open. Oakmont was a brutal test, to be sure, but sometimes that form can carry over, especially now that this is a signature event and the competition level isn’t dropping off all that meaningfully. Hovland was dynamite tee-to-green last week but the greens got the best of him with the flat stick. If he can continue his approach play after gaining more than 1.3 strokes per round last week, he should be able to score plenty at TPC River Highlands.

Brian Giuffra: Xander Schauffele +1400 (FanDuel)

Schauffele is starting to get hot again. He’s gained shots on approach in his last two weeks. His putting and short game remain elite. He was more accurate off the tee at the U.S. Open and remains one of the longer players on tour. On a course where wedges play a big role, I’m backing the X man to knock 'em close. 

Longshot

Iain MacMillan: Brian Harman +9000 (FanDuel)

TPC River Highlands has been a course where we’ve seen a ton of repeat success from certain golfers. Bubba Watson, for example, won here three times and contended plenty more. This year, the horse for course, you should consider betting on is Brian Harman. The 38-year-old has finished inside the top 10 at this event seven times in the past 10 years, including a runner-up finish in 2023.

John Schwarb: Nick Taylor +11000 (FanDuel)

Nick Taylor has had a nice little run since missing the cut at the PGA Championship, finishinf fourth at the Memorial, T13 at his beloved RBC Canadian Open and T23 at the U.S. Open. He doesn’t have a great history at the Travelers—a T42 last year was his best finish in eight starts—but I think this is an outsized number for someone who’s in form. 

Brian Kirschner: Andrew Novak +10000 (DraftKings)

I personally think that Novak is a much better golfer than these odds in a 70-man field. Novak has firmly arrived as a contender on the PGA Tour and someone that can win on a shorter track like this. Already a runner up at Hilton Head another short Pete Dye track, I think this is an excellent fit at excellent odds. 

Cody Williams: Bud Cauley +10000 (BetMGM)

Bud Cauley has been gaining steam this season and, more importantly, has done so with high-end ball-striking. More importantly, he has thrived on comparable courses to TPC River Highlands, finishing solo third at Colonial and T6 at TPC Sawgrass. The form of late matches up with him continuing to peak on this type of course, gaining 0.83 strokes ball striking over the last 24 rounds, while also being Top 15 in Birdie or Better rate and Top 20 in proximity from 100-150 yards. No one really expected him to have the year he is, and a win at Travelers would only continue that narrative. 

Brian Giuffra: Jason Day +8000 (FanDuel)

I was surprised to see Day with such long odds. He’s long and accurate off the tee and is coming off a solid performance at the U.S. Open. His putting, which was red hot earlier this year, has suffered since his injury, but he seemed 100% at Oakmont and I’m backing him to parlay that into a win at a course he’s played every year since 2017. 

First Round Leader

Iain MacMillan: Collin Morikawa +2500 (FanDuel)

Until he proves otherwise, I still don't trust Collin Morikawa to get a win, which would have been a crazy thing to write just a few years ago. Still, he's a perfect course fit for TPC River Highlands and he's continuously had his best stuff on Thursdays. This is the best way to bet him this week.

John Schwarb: Scottie Scheffler +1100 (DraftKings)

Not the sharpest play in the world here, but I think Scheffler puts his foot on the gas after a frustrating, exhausting week at Oakmont. I’m not interested in betting him to win at the microscopic price, but will take 11-1 for him to beat the field Thursday.

Brian Kirschner: Akshay Bhatia +4500 (Draftkings)

This young American had a great showing at this event last year with a rock-solid T4 finish. Akshay has gained on approach in his last three starts on tour, with a whopping 7 strokes gained to the field at Memorial. He putted great on these greens last year, and I figure that is all he needs to turn his putting woes around this week. 

Cody Williams: Ryan Fox +6600 (Bet365)

Ryan Fox has undoubtedly been hot of late, and the numbers back it up. He’s quietly fourth in the field in SG: Approach over the last 24 rounds, and his proximity from 100-150 yards is third-best in the field. He’s also Top 10 in Birdie or Better rate. Do I trust all of that to continue over the next four rounds? I do not. Nothing about Fox’s career tells me this is going to sustain. But he feels like it's better than a 66-1 shot to keep that up with low scoring for the first round and sit atop the leaderboard.

Brian Giuffra: Shane Lowry +4000 (FanDuel)

Lowry is coming off his worst tournament of the year, but that was all about his inability on and around the greens. He still gained shots off the tee and on approach at Oakmont. After a few extra days off, I could see a strong bounce back at a course that suits his game. 

Prop Bet

Iain MacMillan: Top Asian Sungjae Im +360 (DraftKings)

TPC River Highlands is a plotters course, which makes me immediately dismiss golfers like Hideki Matsuyama and Si Woo Kim. Instead, I'll take Sungjae Im to be the top Asian at +360. His approach game hasn't been sharp this season, but his driving, chipping, and putting will be enough to successfully get around this course.

John Schwarb: Cameron Young Top 10 +340 (FanDuel)

Wait, did I really pick winless Cameron Young to get off the schneid this week? O.K., I’m sticking with it, but let’s sprinkle in a top-10 play just in case he falls short again.

Brian Kirschner: JT Poston +160 (DraftKings)

This is a perfect JT Poston golf course and one that he has shined on. With a runner-up finish in 2022 and other top solid finishes, I predict that a top 20 in a smaller field should be easy for Poston to accomplish. He is having a great season, and I think his play will be shown at TPC River Highlands. 

Cody Williams: Luke Clanton +225 (BetMGM)

We’ve seen in recent years that the 6,800-yard TPC River Highlands isn’t immune to bombers, and young Luke Clanton seems primed to take advantage of that. There isn’t a standout statistical category for him in my model outside of being Top 15 in terms of SG: Total on comp courses and 11th in Bogey Avoidance over the last 36 rounds. At the same time, though, he’s not outside the Top 36 in any of the metrics I’m looking at for ball-striking and scoring. To me, that says the upside to win might not be there right now, but a solid finish is definitely in order. 

Brian Giuffra: Russell Henley Top 20 +130 (DraftKings)

Henley is officially fighting for a Ryder Cup spot and will need a strong finish to guarantee a spot at Bethpage. The good news is he’s gaining a ton of strokes on approach in his last two tournaments, and I believe that will be a critical factor this week. 

Winning Score

• Iain MacMillan: -23
• John Schwarb: -21
• Brian Kirschner: -20 
• Cody Williams: -22
• Brian Giuffra: -21

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