Travelers Championship 2022 picks, predictions, field, favorites, odds: Golf expert says fade Justin Thomas

A loaded post-major PGA Tour field will tee up Thursday to start the 2022 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn. Six of the world’s top 10 players and the top four in the FedEx Cup standings are scheduled to compete this week. The proximity of the Hartford area to Boston gives many players a chance to play again before heading overseas to prepare for the Scottish Open, which runs July 7-10. The year’s final major, the British Open at St. Andrews, is the following week. Leading the field is world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who comes in off a runner-up finish at Brookline last week. Rory McIlroy will play for the fourth week in a row, and he tied for fifth at the U.S. Open. The past six Travelers Championship winners have played the U.S. Open the previous week, including defending champion Harris English. He tied for third in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines last year. Scores are expected to be low at TPC River Highlands, the second-shortest course on the PGA Tour behind Pebble Beach. 

McIlroy is the 10-1 favorite in the latest 2022 Travelers Championship golf odds from Caesars Sportsbook. Scheffler (11-1) and Justin Thomas (12-1) are right behind, followed by Patrick Cantlay (16-1), Sam Burns (18-1) and Xander Schauffele (20-1). Jordan Spieth (22-1) and Brooks Koepka (40-1) are among the other notable names in the Travelers Championship 2022 field. Before you lock in your 2022 Travelers Championship picks or make any PGA Tour predictions, you need to see what proven golf insider Sal Johnson has to say.

The esteemed golf insider has been around the game for many years and knows what it takes to win on the PGA Tour.

And in last week’s picks for the 2022 U.S. Open, he nailed Matt Fitzpatrick winning at Brookline. “He is very close to putting it all together and winning for the first time on the PGA Tour,” Johnson said. “What better place to do it than on the course where he won the 2013 Amateur?”

Fitzpatrick relied on his course knowledge and unflappable nature to post a final-round 68 to hold off Masters champion Scheffler and many of the tour’s top players. It was the Englishman’s first PGA Tour title, and Johnson saw it coming.

The expert also knows what is required to win at TPC River Highlands. Before last year’s Travelers, he pegged Harris English as one of his top contenders. “The course is good for his game,” Johnson said, noting that he was coming in off a third-place finish in the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. 

Before the PGA Championship, Johnson predicted that if Thomas made his putts, he could definitely win. Thomas had his best week of the season on the greens, gaining more than 1.5 strokes putting to rank second in the field. The result? He beat Will Zalatoris in a playoff to win his second Wanamaker Trophy.    

In his previous set of predictions for SportsLine, Johnson was all over Scheffler and nailed the Masters winner for the third time in four years. Anyone who has followed Johnson’s picks his way up.

Now Johnson, the first producer of “Inside the PGA Tour” and longtime ABC Sports golf producer who worked with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, has released his highly confident 2022 Travelers Championship (see tickets at StubHub) picks. The picks from the founder of GOLFstats.com, the world’s top golf statistics database, will definitely surprise you. You can only see them at SportsLine.

Top 2022 Travelers Championship expert picks

Shockingly, Johnson is fading Thomas, even though the two-time PGA Championship winner is having a stellar season. He should have the game to succeed at River Highlands, but he hasn’t done it so far. The 29-year-old has missed the cut three times in seven Travelers starts, and his only top-30 finish was a tie for third in 2016. He also is likely to be licking his wounds from his T-37 finish at Brookline, where he had 10 bogeys and just four birdies on the weekend. 

On the other hand, the expert knows that McIlroy has been the most consistent golfer on tour this season, and he followed his Canadian Open win with a tie for fifth at the U.S. Open. His numbers are impeccable across the board, as he is first in strokes gained off the tee, strokes gained total and scoring average (68.657). He has 33 pro wins, and his two this year give him 21 on the PGA Tour. He has played the Travelers three times and finished no lower than 17th.   

Johnson also has considered that Burns’ only weakness this season has been driving accuracy, and that won’t be a major factor this week. The 25-year-old ranks ninth in the world on the strength of a season that includes three victories and eight top-10 finishes in 18 tournaments. He went into the final round at Brookline just three shots off the lead but shot 86 to end up tied for 27th. Burns is fifth in greens in regulation and fifth in par breakers, so he can score low.    

How to make 2022 Travelers Championship golf picks

For this week at TPC River Highlands, Johnson is backing a massive long shot who comes in at around 50-1. Johnson knows this golfer is having his worst season in the past several years, but he always seems to find his form when he gets to TPC River Highlands. He could pull off a stunning result, and you can cash in huge if he does. You can only find out who it is, and get the rest of Johnson’s Travelers picks, at SportsLine.

Who wins the 2022 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands this week? Where do Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns finish? And which massive long shot is a must-back? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Sal Johnson’s full leaderboard, picks and analysis for the 2022 Travelers Championship, all from the insider who is tuned in to what it takes to win on the PGA Tour, and find out.

2022 Travelers Championship odds, field, top contenders

Rory McIlroy +1000
Scottie Scheffler +1100
Justin Thomas +1200
Patrick Cantlay +1600
Sam Burns +1800
Xander Schauffele +2000
Jordan Spieth +2500
Tony Finau +2800
Joaquin Niemann +3000
Davis Riley +3500
Sungjae Im +3500
Keegan Bradley +3500
Tommy Fleetwood +4000
Seamus Power +4000
Brooks Koepka +4000
Aaron Wise +4000
Brian Harman +4500
Mito Pereira +5000
Marc Leishman +5000
Harold Varner +5000
Webb Simpson +5500
Denny McCarthy +5500
Russell Henley +6000
Jason Day +6000
Keith Mitchell +6500
Brendan Steele +6500
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6500
Jason Kokrak +6500
Maverick McNealy +7000
Aaron Rai +8000
Si-Woo Kim +8000
Kevin Kisner +8000
Brendon Todd +8000
Cameron Tringale +8000
Kyoung-Hoon Lee +9000
Joel Dahmen +9000
Mackenzie Hughes +9000
C.T. Pan +9000
Harris English +10000
Adam Long +10000
Sahith Theegala +10000
Wyndham Clark +10000
Nick Hardy +10000
Erik Van Rooyen +10000
Rickie Fowler +10000
Scott Stallings +10000
Kevin Streelman +10000
Matthew NeSmith +10000
Cameron Champ +12500
Lanto Griffin +12500
Charles Howell +12500
Jhonattan Vegas +12500
Patrick Rodgers +12500
Luke List +12500
Cam Davis +12500
Doug Ghim +12500
Emiliano Grillo +12500
David Lipsky +15000
Anirban Lahiri +15000 
Stephan Jaeger +15000
Chez Reavie +15000
Stewart Cink +15000
Matt Wallace +15000
Troy Merritt +15000
Alex Smalley +15000
J.J. Spaun +15000
Sepp Straka +15000
Ryan Palmer +15000
Russell Knox +15000
Lucas Glover +15000
Tom Hoge +15000
Kramer Hickok +17500
Dylan Frittelli +17500
Andrew Putnam +20000
Patton Kizzire +20000
Callum Tarren +20000
James Hahn +20000
Matthew Wolff +20000
Austin Smotherman +20000
Matthias Schwab +20000
Chad Ramey +20000
Scott Piercy +20000
John Huh +20000
Martin Laird +20000
Adam Svensson +20000
Hank Lebioda +20000
Danny Lee +20000
Tyler Duncan +25000
Peter Malnati +25000
Brice Garnett +25000
Vince Whaley +25000
Charley Hoffman +25000
Brandon Wu +25000
Nate Lashley +25000
Rory Sabbatini +25000
Garrick Higgo +25000
Zach Johnson +25000
Joseph Bramlett +25000
Danny Willett +25000
Adam Schenk +25000
Doc Redman +25000
J.T. Poston +25000