Nothing can cure the pain of Oakmont like TPC River Highlands.
This week’s Travelers Championship was held in the 70-shot match in Cromwell, Connecticut, and always scored some on 18-hole and 72-hole scores this season, and Thursday’s first round was no different.
Scottie Scheffler and Austin Eckroat both scored a 62-shot first-round lead in the final signature game of the season. Wyndham Clark, Rory McIlroy and Keegan Bradley all added 64 seconds.
Eckroat got hot at the end of his round, running on Eagle-Birdie-Birdie on 13-15 and ending with the 18-year-old bird.
World No. 1 Scheffler looks like he will definitely beat that number – at some point, the 59 watch is working – but Scheffler slows down at the end.
After shooting a 30-low 30 shot in front, he played the game on the 12-15 birdie-Eagle-Pary-Birdie, which required two of them to hit the last three holes with two shots in the 1950s, but he assigned two of them and bogeyed 17.
At 17, Schefler missed the fairway and saw his entry roll down from the green back. He lifted from the edge, but made himself 15 feet par, and he missed the right. That was his only taboo on that day.
“I got very hot early in the round, and then I really kept the momentum through 15 holes and then had a mess at 17, but overall it was a good day.”
Despite ranking 62 on the rankings and improving his odds against the -140 win, Scheffler said it was difficult, mainly due to the waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of waves of wave
“The situation is really challenging today,” he said. “I was surprised to see what the score was [late] Tee Time Wave, just because it was calm when I went out for breakfast this morning. When I came out for a warm-up, it was still calm. By the time I arrived at the first tee it blew 20 miles per hour and was able to sustain it for most of our time.
“It could go down to 10 and then craving for 30. It’s challenging there. I didn’t really let my mind wander too much. I just tried to stay there and execute execution, and that’s pretty much that.”
Although not every name player will be lowered. Ludvig Aberg, Adam Scott and Robert MacIntyre finished second in the U.S. Open, all of them failed to break par. Xander Schauffele was just one below, which put him in a draw No. 36.
Is it too easy to be in TPC River Heights? Scheffler wants to point out his comments to you. Last year, under 22 after 72 holes was good enough to make the playoffs of this match (eventually won by Scheffler). Ask him if this course is too easy, especially for signature activities.
“Sometimes, especially in today’s times, people are too stuck in the win scores. I think the proper test is that good shots pay off, and bad shots get punished. I think it’s one of the best golf courses for this.” “There are opportunities there, and there are punishments. You look at the closing; 15, if you hit a good shot, you have a birdie chance. If you try to properly release, you’re on the right side of the bunker on the right and have a 40-yard bunker shot, one shot.”
“Sixteen, if you play well, you’ll be optimistic about the birds. If you rescue and walk for a long time, it’s a tough crumb, it’s seventeen. Seventeen, you hit the fairway and you have a chance to hit it near the pin. If you hit it in the left, you’re probably going to be in a situation where you might be in a situation where you might enjoy a good attitude in the green. It’s as simple as that.”
On Thursday, Schaffler made a lot of good shots. They got the reward. He is your co-leader into Friday.
