PGA Travelers Championship Preview

CROMWELL, CT—After a long and grueling U.S. Open, which extended into Monday due to a series of weather delays, the PGA Tour moves two hours north of Bethpage for the Travelers Championship. The TC is being played this week at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, CT.

Playing just 6,841 yards, TPC River Highlands is a course that levels the playing field and virtually assures that the best ball striker will walk away with the win.

Joe Pesci, Luke Wilson, Chris Berman, Bill Belichick, Sandy Koufax, and Ray Allen were amongst those creating laughter from the galleries at the celebrity pro-am on Wednesday.

However, with a $6 million purse at stake, it will be all business at TPC River Highlands come 7 am Thursday morning.

Here are eight players to watch this week at the Travelers Championship.

David Toms

After failing to finish within the top 125 on last year’s PGA Tour money list, David Toms has gotten off to a red-hot start in 2009.

Toms, who had just one top-10 finish all of last year, has already finished within the top 10 six times in 2009.

Toms missed the cut at the Open last week, but his 69 in the opening round at Bethpage could have easily been a 65 had his typically reliable putter not abandoned him.

If there was ever a golf course that suited David Tom’s game, it’s the TPC River Highlands. The course is not particularly long and demands accurate ball-striking and a solid putter, which are two aspects of the game that Toms has relied heavily upon. 

Toms appeared to be striking the ball as well as ever on the range on Wednesday. If his putter decides to show up this week, he could very well be in contention late on Sunday afternoon.

Brian Gay

Brian Gay is one of just four players to have already won twice this year on the PGA Tour.

Gay demolished the field by 10 strokes at the Verizon Heritage and then ran away with another one two weeks ago at the St. Jude Classic, where he won by a margin of five strokes over the field.

Similar to Toms, Gay will not over power a golf course; he instead relies upon accuracy and one of the best putters in the game.

Gay missed the cut at the U.S. Open last week but will be looking to get back on track this week at a course that sets up very well for his game.

Zach Johnson

A course that demands accurate ball-striking and solid short-iron play could not be a more perfect situation for Zach Johnson.

Heck, Johnson won the 2006 Masters by relying on these same skills.

Like Brian Gay, Johnson has also won twice this season and has had three additional top-10 finishes.

TPC River Highlands is certainly a course that Johnson could pick apart with his short irons.

“If you're hitting well, and putting well, you can make some birdies. At the same time, if you're a little bit off, it will bite you,” said Johnson on Wednesday in Cromwell.

With all the rain that has fallen in the area over the past month, look for Johnson to go flag hunting all week on very receptive greens.

Hunter Mahan

Sometimes there are golf courses that, for one reason or another, certain players just love.

TPC River Highlands is, without question, one of those courses for Hunter Mahan.

“I just like the course, just the setup of it. It just suits my eye pretty well.  I think it plays to my strengths,” Mahan said on Wednesday in Cromwell.

Although Mahan is making only his eighth appearance at the Travelers Championship, no one has earned more money in his career at the Travelers than Hunter Mahan.  

Only once in the past three years has Mahan failed to break 70 at TPC River Highlands.

“I feel like I can read the greens really well. I just kind of have a great sense, a great feel for them. I can see the ball going in the hole,” said Mahan.

Coming off a sixth place finish at last week’s U.S. Open, Mahan is clearly hitting the ball well. So, what’s to say that he won’t once again contend at the Travelers Championship this week?

“I’ve had some good rounds here, so now I just have confidence in what I can do on this golf course,” said Mahan.

J.J. Henry

Having grown up just an hour south of Cromwell, the Travelers Championship is a home game for J.J. Henry.

Henry won the Travelers back in 2006 and finished 13th in 2008.

Although he’s been struggling with his game since late 2007, Henry seems to be making some headway this year with 12 cuts made and four top-25 finishes in 17 events.

Having played in the Travelers Championship every year since 1998, there are few players in the field this week that will know every inch of TPC River Highlands better than J.J. Henry.

Stewart Cink

Stewart Cink won the 2008 Travelers Championship by one stroke over Hunter Mahan and Tommy Armour III but has been struggling ever since.

Perhaps a return to the site of his last PGA Tour victory will be just what Cink needs to regain his game and confidence.

“Without trying to put too much pressure on myself here, I love playing here and feel like my golf game is getting there, so we'll see,” Cink said on Wednesday in Cromwell.

Cink knows how to win here, as he’s done it twice before (1997, 2008). Perhaps this week he can join Billy Casper as the only players to have won the Travelers Championship more than twice.

Paul Goydos

Paul Goydos has made the cut in just six out of the 14 events he’s attended this year.

Goydos has also not had much success at TPC River Highlands or the Travelers Championship, with his best finish being a tie for 32nd back in 2000, when the tournament was called the Canon Greater Hartford Open.

However, Goydos has had some success in recent weeks and is another player that relies on accuracy more than power. TPC River Highlands could be a course that suits Goydos’ game if he is striking the ball well.

In Goydos’ last three events, he finished tied for third at the Valero Texas Open, missed the cut at the Crowne Plaza Invitational, and tied for fourth at the St. Jude Classic.

If Goydos is playing well this week, TPC River Highlands is the type of golf course he can win at.

Anthony Kim

Anthony Kim has struggled with a series of injuries this season, but he appears to be getting close to 100 percent.

“The injuries I feel are pretty close to all behind me,” Kim said during his press conference on Tuesday at the Travelers Championship. “I think the problem with an injury is that when you start compensating for that injury, you tend to use one part of your body a little bit more. That's what I was doing. So to get back into shape was very important to correct my injuries.

“I've had a positive outlook on this whole year, whether I was missing cuts or whether I was actually showing signs of playing some good golf. So I'm very excited because I know what I'm capable of, it's just a matter of time.”

Kim finished tied for 16th at the U.S. Open last week, and with rounds of 71, 71, 71, and 70, he displayed a level of consistency that he has been lacking for most of the 2009 season.

As clearly seen through his record-setting 11 birdies in the second round of the 2009 Masters, Kim has the talent to bring just about any golf course to its knees, no matter how long, short, or difficult.

If Kim’s game is on this week, there’s no reason why he should not contend.

Even though the course plays close to 600 yards shorter than Bethpage Black and the fairways appear to be twice as wide, TPC River Highlands is no cinch of a golf course.

If you hit the ball off-line, particularly off the tee, you will be going home on Friday evening, no matter how long or short you hit the ball.

Those who keep the ball in the fairway and have a solid week with their short irons can hope to contend throughout the weekend.