Travelers Championship Power Rankings: Top 10 at TPC River Highlands

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CROMWELL, CT – JUNE 28: Bubba Watson celebrates with the winner’s trophy after the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on June 28, 2015 in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /

The Travelers Championship has always held a special place in Bubba Watson’s heart. His first career PGA Tour win came in Hartford in 2010 as his father neared the end of his cancer battle at home in Florida.

Love or hate Bubba Watson on the whole, it was a gutsy performance to play, let alone to survive a playoff with proven PGA Tour winners Corey Pavin and Scott Verplank.

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Sentiment aside, there’s plenty of reason to choose Watson this week. He won the Travelers again in 2015 and was runner up in 2012 and fourth in 2013. Watson finished T38 or better from 2008 to 2016.

Most big hitters will dial it back on a lot of holes, but TPC River Highland seems to contort to Watson’s desire to hit driver. If he’s playing #BubbaGolf and hitting just enough fairways, he’ll be able to flip wedges into these greens all day.

He’s never been the type to thrive at the U.S. Open (he MC’d at 11-over last week), so this will feel like he’s taken the donut off the bat.

Watson is fifth on Tour in strokes gained off the tee, 27th in par-4 scoring and 11th in greens in regulation. His short game and putting numbers aren’t fantastic, but he’s been able to put it all together in stretches this season.

The lefty dropped as low as 117th in the world in February but is now back up to No. 20 thanks to wins at the Genesis Open and the WGC-Match Play as well as a T5 at the Masters and a T9 at the WGC-Mexico Championship.

Next: Brooks Koepka claims historic repeat victory at the 2018 U.S. Open

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