Rory McIlroy back on form with stunning 64 at Travelers Championship
The Masters champion had finished tied for 19th at the US Open over a punishing Oakmont course – but ended the weekend on a positive following a three-under-par final round, which was the joint best of the day.
The Irishman – who saw his driver ruled as 'non-conforming' ahead of last month's PGA Championship before then missing the cut at the Canadian Open – had been looking to build some momentum at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell as focus turns towards the Open at Royal Portrush.
World number two McIlroy landed a birdie at the second and then sank two more ahead of the turn at the final PGA Tour Signature Event of 2025.
After picking up another couple, a further birdie at the 17th saw him finish six-under with 64, to sit in a tie for second, two shots behind early clubhouse leader Austin Eckroat.
American Eckroat hit a fine eight-under round, which included an eagle at the par-three 15th and a sixth birdie at the 18th.
McIlroy's playing partner Keegan Bradley is also at six-under, having dropped a shot at the 12th, alongside Wyndham Clark, the 2023 US Open champion.
England's Tommy Fleetwood carded a first round of 66 to sit in a group tied for sixth.
Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, runner-up at Oakmont on Sunday, finished one over following a double-bogey six on the 17th.
World number one Scottie Scheffler, defending his Travelers Championship title, has been paired with newly-crowned US Open champion JJ Spaun in the later starters.
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Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Rory McIlroy smiling again after stunning 64 at Travelers Championship – but Scottie Scheffler is the man to catch
As Austin Eckroat shot 62 to set the pace at TPC River Highlands, the world number two made 108 feet of putts to share second in the clubhouse with US Ryder Cup skipper Keegan Bradley and Wydham Clark, who apologised for smashing lockers at Oakmont. 'It was good,' McIlroy said. 'I said yesterday, this is a nice tonic compared to last week in terms of it's a slightly more benign golf course and the penalty for missing isn't quite as severe. 'You can give yourself plenty of chances for birdies, which Keegan and I did today. 'Overall, it was a good start to the tournament, and I think when you're in a two-ball like that we can sort of feed off one another a little bit, too, that's nice, as well.' 'I've had a lot of highs and lows in my career, especially this year some lows,' said the former US Open champion, who missed the cut by a shot last week. 'I made a mistake that I deeply regret. I'm very sorry for what happened. 'But I'd also like to move on, not only for myself but for Oakmont, for the USGA, and kind of focus on the rest of this year and things that come up. I still want to try to make the Ryder Cup team.' Scottie Scheffler fired an eagle and seven birdies in an eight-under 62 to grab a share of the lead as he chases his fourth win in his last six starts. The world number one leapfrogged Rory McIlroy at the top of the FedEx Cup standings thanks to wins in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, the US PGA, and the Memorial Tournament. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more He was also joint seventh in last week's US Open without playing his best golf and insists he drew confidence from his performance at Oakmont. 'The way I swung it the first couple rounds was pretty poor,' Scheffler said of the US Open following an impressive opening round at TPC River Highlands. 'I mean, I was not getting the ball in play. I don't know if you saw much of it, but it wasn't very pretty. 'But I was very proud of the way I stayed in the tournament, and I still gave myself a chance to win. 'That gives me a lot of confidence going forward that I could - especially on a golf course like Oakmont where you know you have to get the ball in play – and I wasn't able to do that in the beginning of the tournament. 'And to hang in there, flirt with the cut line on Friday, have a good finish to my round Friday, kind of bounce back, get myself back in the tournament to give myself an opportunity to win was I felt like pretty good. I gained some confidence from that. 'It's also just good reflection knowing that it's really important for me just to stay in it mentally, and I felt like last week was, oddly enough, as good as I've been mentally on the course throughout the season.' It was also a good day for Leona Maguire, who was just four shots off the lead after opening with a battling level par 72 in the KPMG Women's PGA in Texas. The Co Cavan star, who arrived at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco struggling for form on the back of four successive missed cuts, made two birdies and two bogeys in a solid round as Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul shot 68 to head Australia's Minjee Lee by one stroke. On the HotelPlanner Tour, Max Kennedy (23) planned a dip in the sea to cool off after scorching to a 10-under-par course record 60 to grab the lead in the Blot Play9 Golf in Brittany. The Royal Dublin rookie (23) made six birdies and two eagles in a career-low round at Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André to lead by four strokes from England's James Morrison. 'Yeah, very happy,' said 72nd-ranked Kennedy, who can take a massive leap this week in the race for 20 DP World Tour cards. 'Obviously, a very nice round. I didn't miss a whole lot of shots, and it was even nicer to save a good par on the last. 'It would have been nice to give myself a chance on the last for a 59, but still, I'll take a 60.' While Kilkenny's Mark Power was joint fourth after a 66, Ballymena's Dermot McElroy followed an eagle two at his first hole with a quintuple bogey 10 at the next, the 11th, en route to an 84. Meanwhile, County Louth's Gavin Tiernan (19) used all his links experience to battle his way into the quarter-finals of the Amateur Championship at Royal St George's. But while he beat Belgium's Jarno Tollenaire by two holes before seeing off France's Gaspar Glaudas 3&2 to take his place in the last eight, he's not dreaming of the Masters place awarded to the champion just yet. 'No, I'm just taking it hole by hole, one shot at a time,' said the East Tennessee State University star, who will face Estonia's Richard Teder in the quarter-finals. 'That's been my motto this week, just one shot at a time.'
The Irish Sun
11 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Jordan Spieth groans in agony and forced to pull out of Travelers Championship with injury
JORDAN SPIETH let out an ear-piercing groan as his Travelers Championship hopes ended with agonising injury at the 13th hole. The three-time 3 Jordan Spieth revealed he was in real pain as he withdrew 3 The Texan could be excused for taking a ride off the course The ex-World No.1 revealed his back had earlier locked up. The 31-year-old did all he could to battle on, having never pulled out of a tournament before. But after struggling to five-over after 12 holes, he accompanied his 13th tee shot with a cry of pain that meant enough was enough. So the Ryder Cup star had to exit early from the final Signature Event of the season at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. READ MORE IN GOLF Earlier in the round he was spotted using a muscle massager on his upper back. But he explained his body had started to lock up even before that - during a warm-up on the ranges. Spieth was still keen to give the tournament a go as it's a no-cut event with extra FedExCup points at stake. Most read in Golf 3 Spieth was uncomfortable playing a 12th-hole bunker shot Credit: Reuters BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK And he said after his unfortunate early ending: "Everything was great in my gym session, and I've been very, very excited to go out and play. "Things have been getting better and better, and then my right scap [scapula on the upper back] just kind of locked — like tightened midway through the warm-up." Watch Bob MacIntyre's classy reaction after JJ Spaun holes winning putt at US Open Spieth said the problem moved up "all of a sudden" - then was all across his back. He ended his practice 30 minute early for treatment from a physio before starting the opening round. Spieth explained his loud near-grunt of anguish by saying his 13th tee shot "legitimately really hurt". It meant he was "not going to be able to make a backswing that's even useful, and that's what happened on the [earlier] bunker shot." The Texan has just returned from wrist surgery but insisted his new injury was a surprise. Spieth began the event at 37th in the season's rankings - knowing that the top 70 in early August go into the FedExCup Playoffs and the top 50 make next year's Signature Events. He said his new setback was "incredibly frustrating" as he went into the Travelers Championship "very confident". Spieth added:" Everything I had done in practice and the pro-am showed me it's going to be a really good event. "It's just a very weird circumstance. It's disappointing ... we're having a baby here in a couple weeks, so I'll have some time off now, obviously, to get healthy. "But hopefully, after a few days, I go through the right process to just get right back to where I was."
The 42
11 hours ago
- The 42
Two-time Wimbledon champion calls time on career
TWO-TIME Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova announced Thursday that she will be retiring from the professional tennis circuit after this year's US Open. The 35-year-old Czech, who is currently ranked down at 572 in the world, reached a career-high ranking of 2 in 2011 when she won the first of her two Wimbledon titles. She triumphed again in 2014 and went on to reach the final of the Australian Open in 2019. This week, she was handed a wildcard entry for one last outing on the grass courts of south-west London. Advertisement 'There comes a day that it is time for a new chapter, and that time for me has come now,' the left-handed Kvitova wrote on social media. 'I therefore wanted to share with you that 2025 is my last season on tour as a professional. 'I am excited and very much looking forward to soak in the beauty of playing The Championships, Wimbledon one more time, a place that holds the most cherished memories in my career for me. 'While I am not entirely sure yet what my hardcourt swing in the US will look like, I am intending to finish my active playing career at the US Open in New York later this summer.' Kvitova won Olympic bronze in 2016, but just before Christmas, she was attacked in her home by a knife-wielding robber, suffering cuts to the nerves and tendons in her left hand. She was a member of six Czech teams to have won the Fed Cup and won the most recent of her 31 tour titles on the grass in Berlin in 2023. Kvitova missed the 2024 season in order to give birth to her first child. Since returning, Kvitova is 1–6, with her lone win coming in the first round of Rome. 'I could not have asked or wished for anything more,' Kvitova posted. 'Tennis has given me everything I have today, and I will continue to be forever grateful to this beautiful sport that I love.' – © AFP 2025
