Travelers Championship 2026 preview, picks & analysis

Yet again, the PGA Tour follows a major with another Signature Event on a week when most of the world’s best golfers would surely rather be at home recovering from the battering they received at Shinnecock Hills.

For the life of me, I just do not understand the thinking. It makes no sense to me whatsoever and, of course, several notable players will be giving the Travelers Championship a miss. And who can blame them, especially with The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale just around the corner?

One man who will definitely be teeing it up is defending champion Keegan Bradley.

Twelve months ago, England's Tommy Fleetwood suffered more heartbreak as American Bradley claimed the Travelers by a single shot.

After 41 top-10 finishes, Fleetwood finally looked to be on course to claim his maiden PGA Tour title in 159 starts as he held a two-shot lead with three holes to play and a one-shot advantage going into the final hole. 

After a decent tee shot on the 18th, a poor approach and awful first putt left him needing to hole from six feet to make par.

But Fleetwood narrowly missed, leaving him to bogey and hope that Bradley, who had hit the green in two, would miss his birdie putt. The 2011 US PGA champion made no mistake, slotting home to deny Fleetwood even a playoff. 

"I'm gutted right now," said Fleetwood. "I've not been in that situation for a long time. It's probably the worst way to finish. 

"Leading by two with three to play. Leading by one going into the last and you don't even make it to a playoff. It's the worst way it could go."

It was a victory that sparked wild speculation that Bradley might qualify for the US Ryder Cup team as a playing captain. In the end, of course, he decided that combining both tasks was too much and decided not to pick himself, overseeing a home defeat that he admits still hurts him deeply.

Fleetwood also returns to TPC River Highlands, hoping to go one better this year. Of course, he finally broke his duck by winning the Tour Championship and following it with another victory in India. He has had a fairly quiet year by his own high standards but continues to grind out top-10 finishes for fun. His level of consistency is quite remarkable. In truth, he has played exceptionally well in 2026 but his putter has been stone cold. That surely cannot last.

(Image Credit: Rolex/Chris Turvey)

I continue to be puzzled by Ludvig Aberg’s inability to add to his two PGA Tour titles. He is arguably the best ball striker in the game but looks like he is still struggling to get beyond his final-round collapse at the Players Championship. He does everything incredibly well, so why hasn’t he won more? The same frustration applies to Viktor Hovland. Still tinkering with his golf swing, the Norwegian is a seven-time PGA Tour winner who is currently a million miles from his best.

Two players with no such concerns in 2026 are Cameron Young and Matthew Fitzpatrick.

Young has well and truly shrugged off his perennial runner-up tag, winning the Players Championship and Cadillac Championship. He is hugely impressive in absolutely everything he does. He has always hit the ball a mile but has now realised that hitting the ball in the fairway is more important. He is a fabulous iron player and has worked incredibly hard on his putting. 

Fitzpatrick’s rise and fall and return to the top again has been well documented. I have nothing but admiration for the Englishman. Countless golfers have reached the summit and then fallen away and have never been able to climb the summit again but Fitzpatrick is hewed from Sheffield steel. Nobody works harder on his game than he does and his success this season is something to celebrate.

When Justin Rose announced that he was signing a new club contract with McLaren there was a certain amount of disbelief. Why would you change your equipment when you are arguably playing some of the best golf of your life. You may recall that some years ago he came to regret signing for Honma and quickly realised that he had made a mistake. Well it looks like this time the Englishman knew what he was doing. He won the Farmers Insurance Open in February with his old gear and then finished tied third at The Masters. Soon afterwards he announced his new deal and finished tied 10th at the US PGA, 12th at The Memorial and tied 11th at the US Open.

Robert MacIntyre’s season has been something of a rollercoaster ride. He was tied fourth at the Sony Open, fourth at The Players, and tied second at the Texas Open, which he should have won. But he missed the cut at The Masters, attracting unsavoury headlines for both his language and his behaviour, and also failed to make the weekend at the US PGA and The Memorial, where he looked horribly out of touch. I remain convinced that the hot-headed Scot is his own worst enemy and needs to find a way to count to 10 after a poor shot or a bad break.

And what about the defending champion? It seems that Bradley isn’t joking when he says that he is struggling to get over that Ryder Cup defeat. He is still looking for his first top-10 finish of 2026 and it would be a major surprise if he were to contend this week.

Tournament Winners:

It was won in 2015 and 2018 by Bubba Watson, in 2016 by Russell Knox, in 2017 by Jordan Spieth, in 2019 by Chez Reavie, in 2020 by Dustin Johnson, in 2021 by Harris English, in 2022 by Xander Schauffele, in 2023 and last year by  Keegan Bradley, and in 2024 by Scottie Scheffler.

The Course:

TPC River Highlands is a par 70 designed by Robert Ross in 1928 and updated by Pete Dye in 1982 and Bobby Weed in 1989. The course record is 58, achieved by Jim Furyk in 2016. It measures just 6,841 yards and you can be certain that the winning score will be low. It features plenty of trees and gently rolling terrain.

Form Guide:

It is hard to ignore the claims of big-hitting American Cameron Young, who has soared up the world rankings, has become a regular winner and now has the complete game.

Prize Money:

The total prize fund is $20m, with around $3.6m going to the winner, as well as 700 FedEx Cup points.

How to Watch:

Thursday, June 25, Friday, June 26, Sky Sports Golf, 8pm; Saturday, June 27, Sky Sports+, 7pm; Sunday, June 28, Sky Sports+, 6pm.

To Win:

Cameron Young. Superb ball striker

Each Way:

Tommy Fleetwood. Has a score to settle here

Each Way:

Ludvig Aberg. Come on Ludvig!

Five to Follow:

Cameron Young. No weaknesses

Tommy Fleetwood. So impressive 

Ludvig Aberg. Needs to start winning 

Scottie Scheffler. Looking for his very best

Justin Rose. Write him off at your peril