Travelers Championship First-Round Leader Tips: Rai to fly

• 80/181.00 Aaron Rai can hit the birdie trail early again

• 100/1101.00 Mackenzie Hughes is a R1 specialist here

• 100/1101.00 Harry Hall is a fast learner and a quick starter

Weather forecast for Thursday

It'll take a while to warm up in Connecticut on day one, with temperatures in the 50s until the afternoon when it climbs around 10 degrees. Wind speeds are around 8-10mph in the morning but they could drop a little after lunch. Overall, the p.m. wave could have a slight advantage if that forecast holds up.

Aaron Rai @ 80/181.00

Back in April, Aaron Rai sat out the US Masters before returning to action at the following week's RBC Heritage and taking the first-round lead with a 63 at Pete Dye's Harbour Town.

Fast forward to this Thursday and Rai finds himself in the exact same position: teeing off on a Dye course having sat out the previous week's major. Let's hope the outcome is identical!

Rai will be chomping at the bit having finished third at the Canadian Open the week before the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

In that event, he again franked his reputation as a first-round specialist by opening with a 67 to share the Thursday lead.

That's three 18-hole leads he's had in his last 15 starts and there are two more top fives in that run.

An afternoon tee time looks ideal and he got a solid first look at TPC River Highlands last year when shooting 68-68-67 to open with before finishing 40th.

The price of 80/181.00 looks well worth taking.

Mackenzie Hughes @ 100/1101.00

Starting with the PGA Championship last month, Mackenzie Hughes' results look very average: three missed cuts and a 49th in the US Open.

But his mood will have been very different on Thursdays.

He was seventh after round one at Los Angeles Country Club thanks to a 67 while a 69 put him 14th after the opening lap of his home Canadian Open.

Wind back to the Byron Nelson in mid-May and he was 10th after day one via a 65.

Then there is the little matter of of him twice being the first-round leader of this event.

The first came thanks to a 64 in 2019 before he shot a stunning 60 on day one 12 months later. That helped him finish third while he again made the top 25 last year so it's a course he clearly loves.

I'd slightly prefer a late tee time but at 100/1101.00 I don't want to miss out.

Harry Hall @ 100/1101.00

England's Harry Hall has had a fair amount of coverage on our screens in recent months and he's worth a FRL play here.

Hall was the 18, 36 and 54-hole leader at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial last month before finishing third.

Back in February, a Thursday 65 in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am put him second while he's also been in the top 15 after day one in the Honda Classic, the Mexico Open and the Canadian Open last time.

They were all tournament debuts so Hall is a fast learner.

He's a two-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour and in his three seasons playing on the USA's second tier he also carved out a trio of first-round leads.

Back Hall, a 12.20pm starter, at 100/1101.00.