Predictions: Travelers Championship

Welcome everyone to another edition of predictions here on Pro Golf Now, as this week, we focus our attention on the Travelers Championship. Last week, my predictions weren’t exactly spot-on, as I picked Zach Johnson to get the victory at Pebble Beach. If it wasn’t for that pesky 14th hole, he probably would have had a shot, but I’m confident with my picks for this week. So let’s get right to the predictions!

The Sleeper

This week, I’m going with Jason Bohn, who already has a win on the season and is playing some very goof golf right now. He picked up the victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans a few months ago, and has five Top 25 finishes on the season. I think he could definitely contend this week, as long as he can get the putter going.

The Favorites

Here are the favorites according to the Vegas oddsmakers. And here are my top favorites for the week: Padraig Harrington, Hunter Mahan, Retief Goosen, Kenny Perry, Adam Scott, Bo Van Pelt, Justin Rose, Brandt Snedeker.

Honorable Mention: Stewart Cink, Rickie Fowler, and David Toms.

Elimination style to the finish. Let’s get it started!

Perry is the defending champion here, but unfortunately, he’s not playing the same type of golf now as he was then. He’s only finished in the Top 10 once this season, but on a familiar course, I would expect him to at least contend this week. A win is probably asking too much though.

Rose won at Memorial a few weeks ago, and has had a great season thus far in 2010. He’s certainly got the game to win this week, and should be towards the top of the leaderboard throughout the tournament. I like someone else to win, however.

Mahan really hasn’t been at the top of his game lately, which surprises me a little bit. I thought after the win in Phoenix earlier in the season, that he was due to have an excellent year. He can still do that, but three straight cuts isn’t going to send him in that direction. There’s no way he misses four in a row, so I expect a solid Top 25 out of him this week, especially since he’s played very well at this course in recent years. I don’t think he can go from three straight missed cuts to a win though.

Van Pelt has been on the cusp of several wins this season, with five Top 10’s already on the year. He is looking to finally get the win instead of settling for Top 10 finishes, and this could be the week that he does it. He’ll contend, but I’m not picking him to win it.

The Final Four

Padraig Harrington, Retief Goosen, Adam Scott, Brandt Snedeker

Goosen hasn’t won this year, but he’s been towards the top in a lot of tournaments so far this season. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been towards the top recently, after missing time due to injury. He should play well this week, and might even pick up another Top 10. But I’m not predicting a victory for him.

Snedeker probably isn’t a favorite to a lot of people out there, but I think he’s got a great chance this week. He’s coming off of a T8 at the U.S. Open, and has gotten his confidence back after an up-and-down start to the year. I’m going to boldly predict a Top 5 for him, but not a win.

The Finals

Padraig Harrington vs. Adam Scott

We’ve reached the final two this week, and I’m fairly confident that one of these two guys will pick up the victory in Hartford.

Harrington played well last week at Pebble Beach, with a T22 finish, while Scott missed the cut. So it would seem like an easy choice, right?

Well, it is. While part of me thinks that Scott is due for a big week, I really think Harrington is on his way to a great second half of the season. He’s going to be one of the favorites at St. Andrews next month, a win this week would be a perfect way to get his game in the right shape to win the third major of the season.

Harrington wins this tournament.