2026 Travelers Championship Best Bets: Ginger Joe’s Squad

TPC River Highlands is a relatively short par 70 at just over 6,800 yards, and it’s very much a birdie-making venue when conditions are calm. This is not a course where brute force off the tee is rewarded in the same way as many modern PGA Tour stops. Instead, it places a far greater emphasis on precision, approach play, and converting chances when they come.

The key scoring opportunities will come from fairway to green, with a heavy focus on wedge and short-iron play. Players who consistently give themselves looks inside 150 yards tend to separate themselves here, and that is exactly the profile I’ve focused on this week.

The greens are generally receptive and don’t appear overly severe, which means the better iron players should have plenty of chances to go low. With reachable par 5s and several risk-reward holes throughout the layout, we should see plenty of scoring, particularly early in the week when conditions are at their best.

As always at River Highlands, a hot putter can get you on a serious run very quickly, but you need to hit those approach shots well first!

This looks like another week to prioritize accurate drivers, elite iron players, and golfers who are comfortable in birdie-fests rather than survival tests. I’ve built a four-man squad around exactly that profile, and hopefully we can carry momentum from last week into another strong result here.

I really like the course fit for Russell Henley this week at TPC River Highlands, and he was one of the first names that came to mind when I started analyzing the Travelers Championship. He has already won for my followers this season with his victory at the Charles Schwa, and I think now is the time to get back on board.

Henley is a player I often talk about because his rise to world number 5 is genuinely fascinating. He doesn’t possess any of the flashy attributes that many of the game’s biggest stars rely on. In fact, he is one of the shortest hitters on the PGA Tour, yet he has established himself as one of the most consistent players in the world and has spent a long time inside the top 10 rankings.

What he gives away in distance, he more than makes up for with accuracy, course management and elite iron play. When Henley gets dialled in with his approach game, he is as good as anyone and reliable with it.

A perfect example came at Augusta this year. On paper, it’s one of the least suitable major venues for his game, yet he still finished tied third and was firmly in the mix for the green jacket at one stage. That tells you everything about the quality of the player.

This week’s test should suit him much better. TPC River Highlands is a relatively short course by modern standards, meaning there is less emphasis on power and far more on precision from tee to green. That plays directly into Henley’s hands.

He is one of the most reliable ball-strikers on tour, because he has to be, and if he brings his best iron game, he should create plenty of birdie opportunities. There is very little not to like about his chances this week. The course suits, the form is there, and he looks like the standout bet in the field.

Brian Harman is an interesting player this week, and it does require a bit of faith to take him at the current price given this seasons form. He hasn’t managed a top 10 finish in any of his 16 starts this year, but there were encouraging signs in his recent performances at Shinnecock and Muirfield that suggest his game may be trending back in the right direction.

The main reason he makes the squad is simple. On paper, this course should suit him to a tee! You don’t need to overpower TPC River Highlands, but you do need to control your ball from tee to green, find plenty of fairways, and take advantage when birdie chances come along. That aligns closely with Harman’s strengths, especially on shorter courses like this.

His display at Shinnecock last week, while on a completely different type of test, at least hinted that the fundamentals are returning. You don’t navigate a setup like that as consistently as he did without some sort of stability in your game. I’m willing to lean into that, and assume this will be a much more suitable test for him.

Of course, this is a player with four PGA Tour wins and a major championship to his name, so we know exactly what he is capable of at his best.

Overall, while the recent results aren’t inspiring, the course fit and subtle signs of improvement make him worth chancing. If he does bring his best game this week, this is exactly the type of venue where he can absolutely contend at. He gets a chance by me this week to peak at the right time.

I think Kristoffer Reitan has one of the best swings in golf, and its repeatability has played a huge role in his seamless transition to the PGA Tour. We often see DP World Tour graduates take time to adjust to the step up, but Reitan has already shown he belongs at this level, picking up a PGA Tour title in his debut season on the main circuit.

There are plenty of reasons to like him for this week beyond just aesthetics too. Across a variety of course types this season, he has shown impressive adaptability, which is always a key sign of a genuinely class player. His ball-striking from fairway to green has been consistently strong, and his results reflect a player who is more than capable of competing at the top end.

His win at the Truist Championship came on a demanding layout at 15-under, while he also finished tied 6th at Muirfield, a very tough course, and tied 2nd at the Zurich Classic with a score of 30-under par. That ability to perform in both tough and low scoring conditions is a major plus.

Overall, he has adapted to life on the PGA Tour extremely well, recording six top  15 finishes in just 16 starts. He carries himself well on the course, rarely blows up for big numbers, and creates plenty of birdie chances when his irons are firing.

There is a lot to like about him this week, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him add a second win of the season. This is a proper golfer!

For those who have followed my content over the years, you’ll know I’ve been a big fan of Ryo Hisatsune ever since tipping him to win the French Open back in 2023. He was just 21 at the time of that debut win, and already looked like a player with all the tools to go a long way.

Since then, he has graduated to the PGA Tour and developed into a real fan favorite, with a game built on class and balance rather than flashy attributes. I’d describe him as a proper all-rounder. Off the tee he is more accuracy driven rather than power based, preferring to keep the ball in play and stay in position rather than chase distance.

His strongest asset is his approach play though which is ideal here, particularly from his midiron range. When he’s striking it well, he consistently gives himself plenty of chances and ranks as a steady, reliable player in greens in regulation numbers, rather than someone who swings wildly between highs and lows.

Around the greens Hisatsune is solid without being elite, and the same can be said of his putting. He is very dependable rather than spectacular, but rarely shows any weakness. So I think his putting is good enough to help him win this.

What really stands out is his temperament. He looks composed under pressure, avoids big numbers, and is comfortable throughout his game. Form wise, well, he arrives here a little out of sorts actually, but he’s also been competing on some strong setups, and a return to a more parkland style course, could easily spark him back into life.

At 125/1, I think there is a clear gap between his ability and his price, and he has more than enough quality to outperform those odds. He is worth a shot this week for sure.