It is hard to say that any of the restorations to make TPC River Highlands easier worked, as 57 of the 71 players in the field enter Saturday at even par or better.
That tells some of the story, but the more impactful indicator has probably been the fact that 20 players sit at six-under or better, with our leader, Tom Kim, stretching the two-day lead out to 13-under.
I have been on record saying that this tournament is one of my least favorite measures of mathematics because of its no-cut nature and birdie-fest return. Remember, not every event needs the same sort of aggression.
I am going to take on that stance for this article and provide some of the basic Strokes Gained metrics generated this week instead of releasing a matchup. Feel free to fire away if you see anything you like from these numbers. However, I am not going to force action where I don't see an edge.
Living to fight another day is always been than the alternative. For more on my thoughts about this tournament, listen to the latest episode of the Links + Locks podcast.
If you haven't already, you can find me on Twitter (@TeeOffSports). There, I provide a link to my pre-tournament model, a powerful and interactive data spreadsheet that allows user input to create custom golf rankings. That sheet is released every Monday, so be sure to check it out and construct your own numbers from my database of information.
2024 Travelers Championship
Strokes Gained: Off The Tee
This tournament is challenging to predict because of the random returns in the data. As high-end as Strokes Gained: Off The Tee can be for some players, it is equally unimportant in other areas of the board.
Strokes Gained: Approach
There is a reason Kim is leading the field — he's among the top 10in both driving and approach totals.
His ball-striking metrics had been trending in the right direction over the past few weeks, which added to the narrative of a golfer who has excelled on TPC tracks in the past.
Strokes Gained: Around The Green
My model will always find "overachieving" numbers for most players who gain at this rate with their short-game totals.
This section is no different, with Sahith Theegala being the only name on this list underachieving because of his poor putting, which has lost 1.91 shots to the field.
Strokes Gained: Putting
Kim is the only player in this tournament to land inside the top 16 for all four critical strokes gained categories.
Players Gaining In All Four Strokes Gained Metrics
Expected Score When Given Baseline Putting + Around-The-Green
Biggest Underachievers On The Leaderboard
(Using Baseline Short Game + Actual Ball Striking)
Biggest Overachievers On The Leaderboard
(Using Baseline Short Game + Actual Ball Striking)
