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Keegan to Travel well in Connecticut

Keegan Bradley won the US PGA Championship last year © Getty Images

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Click here to bet on the Travelers Championship at bet365

Back to the grind for Webb Simpson at this week's Travelers Championship, where he will be faced with the challenge of being the biggest name in town.

Simpson snuck up on the outside to snatch the US Open crown on Sunday - his maiden major title - and is straight back in action at the next regular PGA Tour event, which is being played at TPC River Highlands.

I tend to feel that when recent major champions return to the more menial, day-to-day trudge of the PGA or European Tour, they ride a wave of adrenaline and start well before losing steam over the weekend, exhausted by an unprecedented amount of media commitments and the heat of the spotlight.

Williams' wager

• Keegan Bradley E/W - 35/1 at bet365
  

So, fine player that Simpson is, I'll steer clear of him as he steers into the uncharted territory of being a major champion, and attempts to manage all the resultant distractions.

The Travelers is a breath of fresh air after the punishing US Open: a short track (6,841 yards) which yields eagles and birdies freely - and the greens and fairways are relatively simple to find. You can see why so many top players have turned up: they want to shake a harrowing few days at Olympic Club out of their system.

The golf course isn't a particularly severe test of any one aspect, and there are plenty of players arriving in form so, being honest, it's not particularly easy to pluck a winner from the field.

But hey, why not have a go? The man who stands out for me is last year's US PGA Championship winner, Keegan Bradley. He's seventh in the birdie average standings, 21st in scoring average, and 23rd in strokes gained through putting - all of which says he has the potential to go low, and that odds of 35/1 are a little too generous.

Bradley's had a disappointing few weeks, and is without a top-ten finish since April, but he made the weekend at the US Open - more than the world's top two players managed - and is too talented not to turn it around soon. Plus you sense he'll have seen another young American take a major title, and will want to remind the world that he got there first.

Please note that odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.

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