Travelers Championship First Round Leader Odds, Prediction and Best Bets

What better way to spend a Thursday at work than sweating out a first round leader bet at huge odds?

That's exactly what we'll be doing tomorrow as the Travelers Championship begins at TPC River Highlands with a loaded field.

Don't place your wagers at WynnBET Sportsbook without checking out our tournament preview, predictions for the top golfers, and dark horse picks. Though as you're picking your favorite plays, I've identified a few golfers with value to end Thursday at the top of the leaderboard.

Using the odds from WynnBET, here is the first round leaderboard and my best bets:

Travelers Championship First Round Leader Odds

• Rory McIlroy: +2200

• Scottie Scheffler: +2200

• Patrick Cantlay: +3000

• Sam Burns: +3300

• Xander Schauffele: +3300

• Jordan Spieth: +3500

• Joaquin Niemann: +4000

• Keegan Bradley: +4500

• Sungjae Im: +4500

• Tony Finau: +4500

• Aaron Wise: +5500

• Brian Harman: +5500

• Davis Riley: +5500

• Harold Varner III: +5500

• Marc Leishman: +5500

Travelers Championship First Round Leader Best Bets

Rory McIlroy (+2200)

Rory is +900 to win the tournament, so getting +2200 on him to lead after the first round is incredible value.

He's fourth on Tour in Round 1 Scoring Average and has no holes in his game right now. With the way Rory has been talking to the media about his frustrations with the LIV Tour and golfers jumping ship, I think we're due for a fiery McIlroy performance in which he lays waste to everyone around him.

Joaquin Niemann (+4000)

Any first round leader bet slip would be incomplete without the 23-year-old Chilean. Niemann is second on Tour in Round 1 Scoring Average and can get hot at any moment.

He's 12th in birdie average, eighth in Strokes Gained: Tee-To-Green, 11th in Strokes Gained: Total, and 13th in Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee.

While he finished a disappointing T47 at the U.S. Open, Niemann's putter has been running hot in recent weeks and he's as well-rounded a player as they come. We're looking for golfers who can go supernova and rattle off birdies, and Niemann fits that bill perfectly.

Sungjae Im (+4500)

I love Sungjae this week and think his game aligns perfectly with TPC River Highlands. He's accurate off the tee, excellent at Par-4 holes, precise with his irons on short approach shots, and stellar around the greens.

Im ranks 21st in Round 1 Scoring Average and with four top-15 finishes in his five tournaments prior to the U.S. Open, I'm expecting a big week. He's down to +2500 to win the Travelers, and if he does I think it'll be on the back of a hot start. Thus, getting +4500 odds for him to lead after Thursday is a lovely proposition, indeed.

Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.