TFI: Travelers Championship

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I grew up in New England so there's a soft spot in my heart for the PGA TOUR stop in Connecticut; seeing Brad Faxon win here three years ago is a particularly fond memory. I also dig the layout the field is working with this week -- TPC River Highlands is a short but tricky course, a thinking-man's track. Strike up "Brass Bonanza" and let's see if we can pick some winners in the Nutmeg State.

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Kenny Perry has been a popular pick for weeks due to his recent hot streak.

PGATOUR.com Pick 'em
You know the rules - one player in each of the six groups and a wild card selection. We promoted Eldrick Woods and Robert Karlsson in this space last week, hopefully that was of some use to you.

Group 1 Pick: Kenny Perry
Other Options: Vijay Singh, J.B. Holmes, D.J. Trahan, Stewart Cink

Forget Perry making the Ryder Cup roster as a captain's selection -- the way he's swinging right now (12th in GIR, 13th in birdie average), an automatic bid looks likely. Perry hasn't missed a cut since January, he's got a win and a second over the last month, and he's a perfect 6-for-6 at this event over the decade, with five checks inside the Top 15. Sign me up.

Singh hasn't made this a regular stop, but when he does visit, good things happen (four straight checks; fourth last year). Cink has nine checks in 10 Cromwell starts, including a win in 1997. Trahan's game came around nicely last week, but he's yet to do much in four stops at the Travelers Championship (MC, 48, 25, 71). Holmes is a tough pick over this layout; his length won't help him over the short track, but his accuracy off the tee (194th) could be a problem.

Group 2 Pick: Rod Pampling
Other Options: Chad Campbell, Steve Lowery, Johnson Wagner, Stewart Appleby

Pampling has played well here in his last two visits (36, 11), and he's got the stat profile you look for in a Travelers Championship winner (hits a lot of greens; excellent scrambler). His last three tournaments clinch the pick; he was a solid 14th last week at Torrey Pines, he just missed at Colonial (second), and he was 20th at Jack's Place.

Appleby is a popular pick in this space, but I wonder if the harsh weekend at the U.S. Open will have a carryover effect here. Lowery has six trunk slams in his last eight visits, and his four-rounders haven't been anything special either (26, 32). Campbell did run 15th in his Travelers debut last year, but he's not playing his best golf right now (five missed cuts in seven starts). Wagner's lone visit here was a missed cut in 2007.

Group 3 Pick: Carl Pettersson
Other Options: Ryan Moore, Steve Marino, Brian Gay

Pettersson's game is coming into form nicely, with three top-10s over his last six starts. Tight layouts won't bother him one bit -- he ran sixth at the U.S. Open last week -- and he tied for 15th in the last Travelers. Without a doubt the Swede is comfortable with the new driver in the bag, and I feel very confident we'll see four days of Pettersson this week.

Ryan Moore isn't a bad selection -- he just missed at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, he was a solid 10th at the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley, and he finished second here back in 2006. His iron game can be a little erratic at times, but he's crafty around the greens (33rd in scrambling, 20th in putting). In most formats, you'll want to use him here.

Marino has just one check over the last month, though he did finish 13th here last season. Gay has been over the TPC River Highlands layout six times but hasn't seen the Top 35 yet. Pat Perez withdrew on Monday so keep him out of your plans this week.

Sutherland

Group 4 Pick: Kevin Sutherland
Other Options: Steve Elkington, Briny Baird, Jerry Kelly

Sutherland has checks in 10-of-12 starts here, and his average finish is 15.5. It seems like a layout that should suit the personality of his game, too. He hit the ball sharply last month, and we'll look for that to continue in his June debut.

It took a while for Kelly to figure out this track, but he's done well in his last six starts (four Top-15 checks). It's also a homecoming of sorts (Kelly is a University of Hartford grad), and even though he's buried on the 2008 putting stats, I still trust this guy with the flat stick in his hands.

Elkington's name brings respect, but this isn't his favorite stop -- he's never cracked the Top 35 over nine starts, and he's missed three cuts in a row at TPC River Highlands. Baird is also looking at three missed cuts on his resume, which means he won't be on my ticket this week.

Rocco Mediate won a lot of fans at the spine-tingling U.S. Open but he's taking a much-needed week off here, so don't select him.

Group 5 Pick: Heath Slocum
Other Options: Matt Kuchar, Cliff Kresge, Dudley Hart, Nicholas Thompson

Slocum looks ready for a breakout tournament -- he's made 12 cuts in a row (including three Top 10s since May), and his last round was a sparkling 65 at Torrey Pines on Sunday. He's never missed a cut at TPC River Highlands (22, 31, 32, 18), and he's got the reliable ball striking you need here (8th in driving accuracy, 45th in GIR). In any format, you need to consider Slocum this week.

As for this pool, I don't see the case for anyone else. Kuchar has made just one cut here out of five starts, and it was an ordinary 36th-place finish. Hart has also struggled over his last four Cromwell stops, Kresge's three turns haven't shown much (46, cut, cut), and Thompson missed the weekend in his lone Travelers appearance.

Mahan

Group 6 Pick: Hunter Mahan
Other Options: Woody Austin, John Mallinger, Nathan Green, Peter Lonard

I really wanted to pick Austin, who's been in contention in three of the last four years here (including the 2004 win). But Mahan's the defending champ, he ran second in 2006, and he was striping it for much of last week (18th at Torrey Pines, including a 69 on Saturday). In short, I'm afraid not to use Mahan in this spot.

Green was fourth here in 2006, if you wanted to know, and Lonard's got a solid resume to fall back on (29, 9, 25, MC, 20). Mallinger's debut here was a tie for 72nd last season.

Rest of the Field: You probably don't need a lot of prodding to use Justin Rose in a fantasy game, but I'll offer some stuff anyway, just in case. He's got a pair of Top 10s at River Highlands and he's an excellent ball striker; like most of the field, his winning chances come down to putting (where he ranks 171st) . . . David Toms finished sixth here last season but he's also got three missed cuts in seven career starts at the event. He's cashed in his last eight starts this season, but nothing better than 17th . . . Steady Zach Johnson is never a bad play, especially on a course that requires accuracy over length. He's made three cuts in four Cromwell starts, including a third-place run in 2004 . . . Nick O'Hern is another horse for the course -- he's not the longest hitter in the field but he's got a strong sat profile just about everywhere else (12th in driving accuracy, 16th in putting). He ran third here last season and I feel good about his chances this week.