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Cromwell, Connecticut, June 26: There was 40 feet between Mackenzie Hughes and a golfing milestone, as he needed to hole the putt to sign for a 59 on the first day of the Travelers Championship, the third event on the TOUR calendar since golf resumed.
The 29-year-old Canadian Hughes, whose putt during the day was a 30-footer a hole earlier on eighth, his second but last hole. He could not hole the 40-footer but a par sealed a 10-under 60 for a career-best low round and a three-shot lead over World No. 1 Rory McIlroy (63). If Hughes had succeeded it would have been the 12thsub-60 round on the PGA Tour, and interestingly the record of 12-under 58 came at this very course from Jim Furyk four years ago.
Hughes said, “I kind of joked walking off there that 59 wasn’t even the record because of Jim’s 58. It’s probably not even that special around here. But as a personal milestone it would have been neat.” Hughes played a bogey-free round.
Tied for second behind Hughes, McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland, who each shot 63.
Phil Mickelson, a freshly-minted 50-year-old, had a lot t o celebrate. In his first round since turning 50 on June 16, he shot six-under 64 and was Tied-fifth.
It was a double celebration, as he also learnt that he had been granted exemption into the US Open for being in Top-70 of the world on March 15, when golf was put in a pause mode because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“That worked out great, to be able to know that I have a chance to go back to Winged Foot and give it another shot,” said Mickelson. He was second after dropping a double bogey on 72ndhole, when the US Open was held at Winged Foot in 2006.
Mickelson played with McIlroy and was one of the six players to shoot 64. Bryson DeChambeau, the third player in the marquee shot 65 on a day when 106 players broke par. Even that was not even a record here, as 111 players did so in 2011.
Travelers Championship Leaderboard
McIlroy, who started on the back nine, eagled the par-5 13th and followed that up with two straight birdies to be four-under through first six holes. A bogey on 16th, after going into right rough, saw him turn in 32 and on the front nine of the course he had four birdies in his 31.
“It’s just been nice to get back into some competitive golf again,” McIlroy said. “You know, it doesn’t feel the same because you’re not having thousands of people reacting to your birdies and getting that going. I felt the weekends have been a little flat for me just because that’s when you’re in contention and that’s where you sort of start to feel it. Thursdays and Fridays don’t feel that different to be honest, but into the weekends they do.”
Schauffele and Hovland played in the afternoon and were the best in the second half with 63 each.
Abraham Ancer, runner-up at last week’s RBC Heritage, aced the 155-yard 16th. His 8-iron landed just over the pond guarding the green and rolled 6 feet into the hole. He commented, “”It was very anticlimactic because there was nobody out there and we couldn’t high-five or anything, but still, it was awesome to have my first PGA TOUR ace.” Ancer shot 67.
Brooks Koepka, his brother Chase, Graeme McDowell and last week’s winner, Webb Simpson, withdrew because of concerns about the coronavirus. Cameron Champ had tested positive.
The withdrawals opened the door for alternates including
Tyler Cumber, who arrived Wednesday night from his home in Florida, and got in because of a spate of withdrawals, shot 65. He missed the cut last week on the Korn Ferry Tour.
