Travelers Championship 2023 Head-to-Heads: Rory-Cantlay, JT-Young

The PGA Tour heads to Connecticut on Thursday for the 2023 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. Truth be told, my tournament matchup bets have been touch and go this season after crushing head-to-heads (H2H) last season.

At last week's U.S. Open, I lost both H2Hs while chopping my two Round 2 matchups and two Round 3 matchups. Instead of sulking, I'm going to fire up two more H2Hs for this week's Travelers since I found spots where the "wrong golfer is favored."

Travelers Championship 2023 Matchups

Rory McIlroy (+105) > Patrick Cantlay

I'm not going to lie, I'm butt-hurt about betting Cantlay to win and finish top-5 at last week's U.S. Open and Cantlay never having a chance to do either. It was another Cantlay no-show at a major, which is becoming all too common in his career.

But, Rory is No. 1 in my Travelers power rankings and Cantlay is 4th. McIlroy is second in this field for Strokes Gained (SG): Tee-to-Green over the last 24 rounds and Cantlay is 13th. Rory is fifth in total SG at comp courses and Cantlay is 130th.

Rory McIlroy plays a shot on the 10th hole during the final round of 2022 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

One of the biggest golf stories over the past couple of months has been McIlroy struggling. He missed back-to-back cuts at THE PLAYERS and Masters and T47 at the Wells Fargo. Yet Rory has four consecutive top-10 finishes, which includes two majors and the Memorial.

Cantlay famously set the amateur record on Tour for lowest score in a round at the 2011 Travelers. He shot a 60 as a sponsored exemption while still playing for the UCLA Bruins.

So there's a narrative that course history is on Cantlay's side. He has two T15's, two T13's, and a T11 in his last five Travelers starts. McIlroy has a T19, T11, T12, and a T17 in his four Travelers appearances. Not too shabby.

BET 1 units (u) on Rory McIlroy (+105) over Patrick Cantlay at DraftKings

Betting odds for Rory McIlroy over Patrick Cantlay at the 2023 Travelers Championship from DraftKings.

Justin Thomas (+100) > Cameron Young

The market is being harder on JT's recent woes than Young. Thomas has missed back-to-back cuts at the U.S. Open and Memorial, T65 at the PGA Championship and a missed cut at The Masters.

But, Young has NOT finished inside the top-30 in seven of his last eight starts. This includes two straight missed cuts at the Memorial and PGA Championship and T51's in RBC Heritage and THE PLAYERS.

My first issue here is Young getting more leeway for struggling lately. Young is one of the best young golfers on Tour and won the rookie of the year last season. But, Young still hasn't won on Tour and JT is a 15-time winner and two-time major champion.

Justin Thomas reacts to his shot from the 18th tee during the 1st round of the 2020 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

A big reason why both guys are having a down-year is due to poor putting. Over the last 24 rounds, Young is 127th in this field for SG: Putting on Bentgrass, which makes up the greens for TPC River Highlands. Thomas is 102nd.

TPC River Highlands stretches to roughly 6,900 yards and that minimizes Young's biggest edge on the field: Off-the-tee. Thomas is 1st in this field for total SG at short courses with easy scoring conditions and Young is 51st.

Finally, course history is a sticky stat at the Travelers. JT's course history at TPC River Highlands isn't outstanding but he's played there seven times and this is Young's 1st Travelers.

BET 1u on Justin Thomas (+100) over Cameron Young at DraftKings

Betting odds for Justin Thomas over Cameron Young at the 2023 Travelers Championship from DraftKings.

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