Travelers Championship First Round Leader Odds and Prediction: Bet This Golfer at 28-1

Is Patrick Cantlay poised to be the first-round leader for the second straight week?

Patrick Cantlay tees off during the third round of the 2023 U.S. Open. / Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Sports

If you don't have the patience to wait all four rounds to find out if you've won your bet on a PGA Tour event, let me introduce you to first-round leader odds.

These bets are simply on which golfer will be leading the field at the conclusion of the opening round. This way, you don't have to wait all four days and it makes Thursday's action a little more exciting to watch.

My pick to be the first round leader this week is someone who finished tied for the lead on Thursday night at least week's U.S. Open. Before I get into it, let's take a look at the odds.

All odds listed in this article are via BetMGM Sportsbook

Travelers Championship First-Round Leader Odds

Below are the top 10 odds to be the first round leader:

• Scottie Scheffler +1000
• Xander Schauffele +1400
• Collin Morikawa +1600
• Ludvig Aberg +2000
• Hideki Matsuyama +2800
• Patrick Cantlay +2800
• Viktor Hovland +2800
• Brian Harman +3300
• Corey Conners +3300
• Russell Henley +3300

Travelers Championship First Round Leader Pick

Patrick Cantlay +2800

I'm going to back Patrick Cantlay to be the first round leader for the second straight week after being T1 at the end of Thursday alongside Rory McIlroy at the U.S. Open.

He didn't hold the lead, but Cantlay's performance at Pinehurst was impressive. After a three-week slump that resulted in finishes of T29, T53 and a missed cut, Cantlay gained strokes in all four major areas leading to a T3 finish. He also finished third in strokes-gained approach on the week, a promising sign heading into the Travelers Championship.

Cantlay has had plenty of success at TPC River Highlands through the years. He has finished T15 or better in six straight starts at the Travelers, including a T4 finish last year.

While he hasn't had his best stuff at times this season, he has consistently had his best rounds of tournaments on Thursday. He enters this week ranked fourth on the PGA Tour in Round 1 scoring average at 68.46, behind only Scheffler (68.00), Morikawa (68.21) and Schauffele (68.21). Cantlay scores an average of 1.69 strokes better in the first round than any other, with his second-best round typically being the second with a scoring average of 70.15.

At 28-1, his odds are too good to pass up this week.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

You can check out all of Iain's bets here!