Denny McCarthy got here inches from capturing a 59, settling for a 10-under 60 on Thursday for the bottom spherical of his PGA TOUR profession, and Rory McIlroy made his first ace on TOUR on a day of low numbers on the Travelers Championship.
Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott additionally made runs at golf’s magic number — on a course the place Jim Furyk set the PGA TOUR document with a 58 in 2016 — however faltered late. Each shot 62.
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Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 participant on the earth, completed with a 7-under 63.
The 30-year-old McCarthy, who began on the again 9, had 5 birdies on his first six holes and 5 extra coming in.
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The Maryland native’s final birdie got here on the 403-yard ninth gap after his 169-yard method shot skirted simply left of the cup, eliciting a pant from the group. He holed a 5-footer for birdie.
McCarthy was constructive
“I felt positive from the second I woke up this morning,” stated McCarthy, who’s winless on TOUR regardless of a number of shut calls, together with on the Memorial Tournament this 12 months. “So, everything just kind of clicked today. It was obviously just a great day.”
Adam Scott was at 9 beneath when his second shot at No. 17 discovered the lake. He made double bogey, then completed with a 20-footer for birdie on No. 18.
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“It’s a shame, but it’s hard to be disappointed with a 62,” the 42-year-old Australian stated.
Shane Lowry, Eric Cole and 2019 champion Chez Reavie every completed with bogey-free 64s.
Eight gamers shot 65, and 91 gamers broke par on a day the place the anticipated rain and wind held off and the solar broke by means of within the afternoon.
Bradley acquired issues began within the morning with birdies on his first 5 holes. Those included a 75-foot downhill putt from simply off the inexperienced on the seventeenth gap, which saved gaining pace, however hit the flagstick and dropped.
The TPC River Highlands is understood for low scoring. In addition to Furyk’s 58, Patrick Cantlay shot 60 as an novice in 2011 and Mackenzie Hughes matched it in 2020. Hughes withdrew with an sickness Thursday after capturing 76.
Bradley, a 37-year-old Vermont native, stated he couldn’t assist however take into consideration matching Furyk’s document.
“When I made that really long putt on 17, and it could have gone in the water, I don’t know, it crossed my mind,” he stated. “I wasn’t thinking about it a lot, but I certainly was going to try and do it.”
The shot of the day got here from McIlroy, whose tee shot on the 214-yard eighth landed just under the opening and rolled into the cup. McIlroy, the runner-up ultimately week’s U.S. Open, completed with a 2-under 68.
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It was McIlroy’s second ace in competitors. He made one in Abu Dhabi on the DP World Tour in 2015.
“That was the best shot of the day that I hit,” he stated. “It’s obviously a bonus for it to go in the hole, but it was really cool.”
Wyndham Clark, contemporary off his U.S. Open win, shot 68.
The 29-year-old Denver native, who gained his first PGA TOUR occasion final month on the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, stated he acquired emotional after being launched on the primary tee because the U.S. Open champion.
“It kind of caught me off guard a little bit,” Clark stated. “I actually got a little nervous. But then I hit a great shot and I hit it farther than I think I would have, just because of the nerves.”
The Travelers Championship grew to become one of many PGA TOUR’s elevated occasions this 12 months, with the purse raised from $8.3 to $20 million.
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