Key Stats: Travelers Championship (2024)

Key Stats based on the data modeling from Traveler’s Championship results going back to 2007.

Will try to update based on withdrawals and new adds to field.

Update: Changes made after Rory’s withdrawal

Scoring Average

Scoring Average is still serving as the baseline despite only being fourth most important variable this week. Here’s the field’s top scorers:

Top 10 in the Field

1. Scottie Scheffler

2. Xander Schauffele

3. Billy Horschel

4. Ludvig Åberg

5. Collin Morikawa

6. Christiaan Bezuidenhout

7. Taylor Pendrith

8. Sahith Theegala

9. Hideki Matsuyama

10. Corey Conners

Strokes Gained: Tee to Green

It seems like the model is leaning towards the great drivers and approach game players this week. Here are the guys in the field that have the most complete game:

Top 10 in the Field

1. Scottie Scheffler

2. Xander Schauffele

3. Hideki Matsuyama

4. Tony Finau

5. Si Woo Kim

6. Corey Conners

7. Justin Thomas

8. Collin Morikawa

9. Ludvig Åberg

10. Kurt Kitayama

Bounce Back Percentage

This is a new addition to the Key Stats page. The percentage of following a hole with bogey or worse with a birdie or better. It is often a barometer for the Tour’s most mentally tough competitors, and is brought up a lot when talking about Scottie Scheffler’s game.

Top 10 in the Field

1. Scottie Scheffler

2. Chris Gotterup

3. Andrew Putnam

4. Akshay Bhatia

5. Collin Morikawa

6. Robert MacIntyre

7. Nick Dunlap

8. Cameron Young

9. Byeong Hun An

10. Patrick Cantlay

Driving Distance

The model is loving the long-bombers this week as Driving Distance makes it’s first appearance in the Key Stats page as well. Here’s the longest hitting players in the field:

Top 10 in the Field

1. Byeong Hun An

2. Wyndham Clark

3. Chris Gotterup

4. Taylor Pendrith

5. Stephan Jaeger

6. Jake Knapp

7. Tony Finau

8. Ludvig Åberg

9. Justin Thomas

10. Jordan Spieth

Strokes Gained: Around the Green

Finally, the model rounds out it’s distance loving week with a little respect for the short game. We saw how critical it was at the US Open this past week. I doubt it will be as difficult this week, but always good to have success when around the putting surface.

Top 10 in the Field

1. Hideki Matsuyama

2. Justin Thomas

3. Scottie Scheffler

4. Collin Morikawa

5. Tommy Fleetwood

6. Russell Henley

7. Max Homa

8. Si Woo Kim

9. Xander Schauffele

10. Tony Finau

Frequent Flyers

Frequent Flyer Runner-Ups

This week the frequent flyer’s circle is really crowded as we have two winners and five runner-ups that had a top-10 appearance in three of the five key stats. Here is a quick breakdown of each player and their respective chances to have a strong week. I also included the rankings for every key stat and a ranking for their current forms.

Hideki Matsuyama

Matsuyama had a strong outing last week at the US Open. He seems to be healed up from the back issues earlier in the season. His accuracy off the tee, approach game and stellar scrambling ability makes him one of the most consistent performers on Tour. In his last five tournaments, he has three top-10 finishes, including the 6th place finish last week. Matsuyama is not the long bomber the model seems to be leaning towards this week, but his overall game and current form should have you intrigued.

Scoring Average: 8th | SG: Tee to Green: 3rd | Bounce Back: 12th | Distance: 49th | SG: Around the Green: 1st

Current Form Rating: 5th

Justin Thomas

Man, do I really want to trust Justin Thomas this week. But after a tough showing at the Memorial, and a complete no-show last week, it has become impossible to feel confident in this frequent flyer. All you have to look at is how far he has dipped in the Scoring Average rankings in just two weeks. His strengths come from his driving ability and his great hands around the green. The weakness seems to be putting and getting frustrated with not scoring. In his last five tournaments, he has two top-10 finishes so he definitely has flashes of success. Your guess is as good as mine, but I am leaning towards staying away this week.

Scoring Average: 22nd | SG: Tee to Green: 7th | Bounce Back: 46th | Distance: 9th | SG: Around the Green: 2nd

Current Form Rating: 9th

Ludvig Åberg

This feels like a possible popular play this week. Aberg had an impressive first 54 holes this past week, on top of the great performance at the Masters. He just has the talent, and the demeanor to be a fixture of the PGA Tour for the foreseeable future. The touch around the green is where he needs the most improvement, but with four top-15 finishes in his last five, Aberg should be on the watchlist for contenders this week.

Scoring Average: 4th | SG: Tee to Green: 9th | Bounce Back: 49th | Distance: 8th | SG: Around the Green: 51st

Current Form Rating: 15th

Tony Finau

Looking at all of the key stats, outside of Scottie, Finau was the guy that stood out. Just outside the top-10 on the stats he missed out on, Finau displays a well-balanced game. His impressive T3 finish last week and three other top-20 finishes in his last five, should be giving him a ton of confidence going into this week. He is so close to a breakthrough and all signs seem to be pointing to sooner rather than later.

Scoring Average: 11th | SG: Tee to Green: 4th | Bounce Back: 11th | Distance: 7th | SG: Around the Green: 10th

Current Form Rating: 6th

Xander Schauffele

Xander is another well-balanced player with a strong form going into this week. His recent resume speaks for itself with four top-10 finishes in his last five with the other being a top-25 finish. Other guys are rounding into great form around him, but I expect him to be more than capable of maintaining his current form.

Scoring Average: 2nd | SG: Tee to Green: 2nd | Bounce Back: 27th | Distance: 11th | SG: Around the Green: 9th

Current Form Rating: 2nd

Frequent Flyer Winners: Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa

This feels just about right; we have Scottie who has dominated the stats page all season long and Morikawa who seems to be in great form lately. Here’s a breakdown on the pros and cons of taking these two players this week:

Scottie Scheffler

This is probably Scottie’s natural place in the Key Stats page. Pretty much pick a stat out of the hat and there is chance he is near the top of the leaderboard. Last week was his first hiccup, being the only finish in his last five tournaments outside of the top-10. Everyone, including myself, will be over-analyzing whether his ball-striking will wane, or his putter will prevent him from getting back to the top. But, I think Scottie has earned all our trust in the fact that he will bounce back this week.

Scoring Average: 1st | SG: Tee to Green: 1st | Bounce Back: 1st | Distance: 20th | SG: Around the Green: 3rd

Current Form Rating: 3rd

Collin Morikawa

Every week feels like the week Morikawa should break through and get himself a win. Last week he just did not have the game in his first two rounds. But, he showed his form in the weekend and climbed up all the way to T14. He has 5 top-20 finishes in his last five, including 2nd place at the Memorial. In a field of heavy hitters, Morikawa fits right in and should be a contender once again.

Scoring Average: 5th | SG: Tee to Green: 8th | Bounce Back: 5th | Distance: 54th | SG: Around the Green: 4th

Current Form Rating: 1st