For placements, Carver grabbed Xander Schauffele Top-5 at +250. Schauffele has already lifted the Travelers trophy and routinely gains strokes tee-to-green on this track. A modest plus-money number on a golfer with elite recent form and proven course history made the top-5 market his preferred way to invest rather than taking the short outright odds.

Carver fired on Tom Kim at a massive 110-1. Kim lost a playoff here last year and returns on a sponsor exemption, giving him extra motivation. Carver noted Kim’s weekend surge at the U.S. Open where he led the field in birdies Saturday-Sunday, suggesting his scoring form is rounding into shape. Combine that with proven River Highlands success, and Carver sees the number as mis-priced for outright and placement markets.

Carver locked in Keegan Bradley at 40-1, citing Bradley’s consistent spike performances whenever the Tour hits the Northeast. Bradley cashed for Carver by winning this event two years ago, and Carver trusts the hometown comfort angle at TPC River Highlands enough to keep riding him at an attractive mid-tier outright price.

Mike Carver said Sam Burns is a straight fade at TPC River Highlands. Burns just lost a playoff at the Canadian Open and then coughed up Sunday’s lead at the U.S. Open, leaving him mentally fried. Carver thinks the last place Burns wants to be is Cromwell, CT and expects him to struggle with motivation in a non-major the very next week. Because this is a Signature Event with only a small cut, Carver believes Burns could still be among those few players to miss it and suggests betting Burns to miss the cut or passing on any outright/placement exposure entirely.

Mike Carver backed Patrick Cantlay at 25-1 to win the Travelers. Cantlay owns multiple top-5 finishes at TPC River Highlands and repeatedly flashes low rounds here. Unlike many contenders at Pinehurst, Cantlay had the weekend off after missing the U.S. Open cut, giving him extra rest and no Oakmont grind on his body. Carver framed this as a perfect ‘bounce-back with fresh legs’ spot on a track Cantlay clearly loves.

Carver endorsed Daniel Berger for a Top-10 at +240. Berger owns a win and three additional top-20s at Colonial, thrives on shorter positional layouts, and looked fully healthy with a T-13 at Valhalla where he gained 6.1 strokes on approach. That iron form coupled with elite history makes the plus-money tag attractive in placement markets that exclude Scheffler’s outright dominance.

Carver prefers betting Scheffler as an 11-1 first-round leader instead of swallowing the +240 outright. He argued Scheffler has opened hot in Texas all spring—gaining at least 4 strokes tee-to-green in Thursday rounds at both the Houston Open and Masters—and Colonial’s soft early conditions favor early wave scoring. By targeting FRL, bettors capture six-times the outright price while avoiding weekend variance.

Carver highlighted Eric Cole at 100-1 as a perfect Colonial play. He emphasized Cole’s combination of fairway-finding (21st in driving accuracy) and elite wedge work inside 150 yards (3rd in proximity from 125-150 over the past 50 rounds). Those traits mirror previous winners like Kevin Kisner and Daniel Berger. Carver added that putting on bentgrass is Cole’s best surface, so any spike week with the flat stick could cash a triple-digit outright or high-end placement ticket.

Carver called Akshay Bhatia’s 70-1 outright number "crazy" for Colonial, arguing his elite iron play (5th in SG: Approach over the last 24 rounds) should not be listed below several journeymen. While Bhatia lacks course history, Colonial traditionally rewards high-spin wedge players—exactly Bhatia’s strength. Carver believes the pricing gap is driven by one missed cut rather than Bhatia’s overall form, making him a buy for outright tickets or the ‘without Scheffler’ market.

Mike Carver said Si Woo Kim is worth an outright stab at 40-1 because the South Korean’s tee-to-green game has been dialed in for weeks. Carver noted Kim keeps putting himself on leaderboards—ranking top-25 in SG: Approach in three of his last four starts—yet has not pieced together four clean rounds. Colonial rewards precision more than length, which matches Kim’s profile (12th on Tour in driving accuracy). Carver thinks a field weakened by Scheffler’s dominance creates a perfect window for Kim to finally close.