Golf Preview - Travelers Championship and BMW International Open

Travelers Championship

You’d think after such a lengthy and draining U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, golf betting wouldn’t be as intense this weekend. While this week’s tournaments can’t match the star power of one of the major championships, there’s plenty of value to be had.

Hunter Mahan is the favorite at the Travelers Championship at the TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. Oddsmakers have Mahan priced at +1200 to cash the tournament outright after coming in second last year to Travelers winner Stewart Cink. Mahan finished only a shot back of Cink last year, which came on the heels of his win at River Highlands in 2007. After shooting an even-par 280 to finish tied for sixth at Old Bethpage, Mahan might be a little tired to hold up his chalk status.

Cink comes into Thursday as the defending champion and a +2000 underdog. Betting the previous year’s winner is always a bit of a risk, but the reality is Cink has dominated the course. Cink has two victories among five top 10’s at River Highlands, and looked sharp at the Memorial three weeks ago, when he came in eighth place (283, -5).

There’s value in Sergio Garcia, who is playing his best golf of the year after disappointing backers for the duration of 2009. El Nino is listed at +1500 to get the tourney win after finishing tied for 10th at the U.S. Open earlier this week, and that was despite the tough New York crowd’s best efforts. Garcia was steady albeit unspectacular throughout the Open, with three even-par 70s to go along with a two-over 72 in the elongated third round.

Vijay Singh comes into the Travelers listed at the same price as Garcia at +1500, but that tag might be fool’s gold. Bettors shouldn’t take Singh at twice that value, even if he’s done well on the course over his career. Singh does have top fives at River Highlands in each of the last two years, but hasn’t come close to winning on the PGA Tour yet this year.

Another golfer you might want to fade is World No. 4 Zach Johnson, who oddsmakers have on the board as an +1800 pup. Johnson was playing well earlier in the season when he cashed both the Valero Texas Open and the Sony Open in Hawaii, but he’s been brutal his last two tournaments. Johnson missed the cut at Bethpage after firing a 147 in the first two rounds, and came way back in 58th at the Memorial.

Kenny Perry has one win already this year, and he could be due for another priced at +2000 for the Travelers. You can’t go wrong with Perry’s track record this year: He made the cut at the U.S. Open in horrible conditions, almost won the Masters, and has seven top 10s and a pair of top fives in his career at this stop on Tour.

Listed along with Perry at +2000 to shoot the lowest score is David Toms, who is primed to bring home a victory after some near-wins this year. Toms has six top 10 showings to his credit in 2009, and was tied for sixth place at the Travelers Championship two summers ago. If you like to base your golf handicapping more on statistics and less on track record and qualitative factors, Toms is your man: He ranks first on Tour in driving accuracy and second in overall rating since the calendar turned to January.