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Irish Independent
39 minutes ago
- Sport
- 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.'
BreakingNews.ie
3 hours ago
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Rory McIlroy trails by two as Scottie Scheffler holds share of lead
Rory McIlroy made an impressive start to the Travelers Championship to sit two shots off the lead before world number one Scottie Scheffler later laid down a marker to defend his title in Connecticut. Masters champion McIlroy 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. Advertisement The Northern 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. Rory McIlroy made an impressive start in Cromwell (Jessica Hill/AP) 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 – from the best part of 30 feet having hit a fine recovery shot out of the rough and over the water onto the green – 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 13th and a sixth birdie at the 18th. Advertisement Scottie joins Eckroat atop the leaderboard with a 62 (-8) of his own!👏 — TravelersChamp (@TravelersChamp) June 19, 2025 Scheffler was one of the late starters paired alongside newly-crowned US Open champion JJ Spaun – who unlike his playing partner endured a perhaps expected tough round to finish three-over following successive bogeys on the closing two holes. There was, though, no such trouble for Scheffler, who never looked back after three birdies from the opening four holes. The American – who landed a third major title with the PGA Championship crown at Quail Hollow during May – then picked up an eagle on the 13th and another birdie at 15, before a bogey at the 17th was the only blemish on his eight-under 62. 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. Advertisement Out of position? Not for Rory McIlroy. He is 6-under @TravelersChamp 👀 📺 @PGATOURLIVE on ESPN+ — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 19, 2025 'Overall it was a good start to the tournament, and I think when you're in a two-ball like that and we can sort of feed off one another a little bit too, that's nice as well,' McIlroy said after his opening round. 'I just want to see some good golf and see some better shots. I think if you concentrate on that and you are concentrating on your quality of golf and concentrating on just trying to play to the best of your ability, the result will take care of itself. 'There's no point in thinking about the result right now. I'm just trying to play as good as I can and make good swings, and if I do that enough, more than likely I'll find myself in a position to have a chance to win.' England's Tommy Fleetwood carded a first round of 66 to sit in a group tied for sixth. Advertisement Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, runner-up at Oakmont on Sunday, finished one over following a double-bogey six on the 17th. Jordan Spieth WD during the first round of the Travelers Championship with a neck/upper back injury. — PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) June 19, 2025 Jordan Spieth withdrew during his first round because of a neck/upper back injury. 'I may have just slept wrong and then something came along. I don't know what caused it,' he said. 'I think it was just a random one-off that unfortunately got worse and bad enough on a Thursday that I didn't feel like I could continue.' Advertisement
Rhyl Journal
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Rory McIlroy two shots off early clubhouse leader 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 Northern 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 – from the best part of 30 feet having hit a fine recovery shot out of the rough and over the water onto the green – 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. ANOTHER 🐦 at the 18th gets him in the clubhouse with a 62 (-8)!! He's our early round one leader. 🫡 — TravelersChamp (@TravelersChamp) June 19, 2025 'Overall it was a good start to the tournament, and I think when you're in a two-ball like that and we can sort of feed off one another a little bit too, that's nice as well,' McIlroy said after his opening round. 'I just want to see some good golf and see some better shots. I think if you concentrate on that and you are concentrating on your quality of golf and concentrating on just trying to play to the best of your ability, the result will take care of itself. 'There's no point in thinking about the result right now. I'm just trying to play as good as I can and make good swings, and if I do that enough, more than likely I'll find myself in a position to have a chance to win.' Out of position? Not for Rory McIlroy. He is 6-under @TravelersChamp 👀 📺 @PGATOURLIVE on ESPN+ — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 19, 2025 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.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Austin Eckroat's career-low round enough to match Scheffler after first day at Travelers Championship
CROMWELL – From above the 18th green, Austin Eckroat was out of sight. All that was visible from behind the scoreboard off to the left side of the fairway was the reflection of the sun on his club face. It was tight, but Eckroat was able to see the pin and managed to lift his second shot 128 yards onto the left side of the green. The putt – 17 feet, five inches – was no problem for the 26-year-old who also sunk a 35-footer for eagle on No. 13 and went into the clubhouse at 8-under-par 62, topping the leaderboard he was hidden behind. Advertisement 'I was on that side-hill lie, it was kind of thick, I was afraid if the heel caught, I could hit (the scoreboard) and that was really all my question was. But to get relief it had to be more in my way,' he said. 'Luckily it came out great, and I was able to make birdie.' It completed the best round of Eckroat's professional career, which began on a sponsor's exemption at the Travelers in 2021. Yet, it wasn't enough to hold onto the lead by the end of Thursday's opening round. Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 golfer in the world defending his 2024 Travelers crown, matched Eckroat's eagle on No. 13 to tie the lead and jumped into the top spot with a birdie on No. 15 about three and a half hours after Eckroat finished. Advertisement Scheffler hit from the rough, across the water and over the green on No. 17. His fourth shot on the par-4, a 16-foot putt, missed right of the hole and left him with bogey to drop back into a tie with Eckroat at 8-under. Still, it was Scheffler's lowest-scoring round in five career appearances in Cromwell. 'I actually got a pretty good lie in the rough,' Scheffler said. 'I got a lucky break and wasn't able to take advantage of it, but overall, I hit a lot of good shots, gave myself a lot of looks. I got off to a good start, and like I said, it was challenging out there late in the day. The wind was blowing pretty hard, and I was able to hit some really nice shots to get some good looks.' The temperature got up to around 87 degrees by the time Eckroat's round finished and Scheffler's started. The wind picked up with the passing storm later in the day as the bogey count rose to 150, 10 more than the first round last year. Despite the threat of thunderstorms throughout the afternoon, none reached the River Highlands. There were 259 total birdies recorded, six less than the opening round in 2024, three eagles and 850 pars. Advertisement Eckroat, responsible for six birdies, came into the media tent smiling through sweat. Although he has two career wins, he has finished outside the top 25 in 13 consecutive events. 'It's funny, a lot of Wednesdays I've felt really good going into the tournament and then Thursday comes around and it hasn't been there,' he said. 'I don't know if it's just the stress of playing in a PGA Tour event, but this one, it was nice to feel good on Wednesday and then actually take it into Thursday.' Eckroat hit 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation on Thursday, crediting the success to a minor grip adjustment. 'It was just an easy fix, which is always annoying. You want it to be – in your mind it seems like it's something crazy, but it really isn't, it's just something minor, which is nice, obviously. But it's frustrating because it was just one piece away the whole time,' he said. 'I just went a little weaker with my right hand and I was able to release the club properly at that point. I wouldn't say it was weak, it had just gotten really strong, and I hadn't paid attention to that. I was focusing on the other aspects of the golf swing, so just a little bit weaker, more on top of the club.' Advertisement World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, 2023 Travelers champion Keegan Bradley and 2023 U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark will each enter Friday's second round two strokes back at 6-under. Cameron Young sits alone in sixth place after recovering from a double bogey on the first hole to shoot 5-under 65. He is followed by a group of eight players at 4-under: Davis Riley, Nick Taylor, Jason Day, Adam Hadwin, Max Greyserman, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland and Brian Harman. Tom Kim, who tied Scheffler after 72 holes in last year's tournament to force a playoff, received a sponsor's exemption to play this year and shot 3-under 67. The Travelers is the eighth and final PGA Tour Signature Event of the season. It has a $20 million purse with $3.6 million and 700 FedExCup points to the winner. Scheffler holds a lead of more than 1,000 points in the FedExCup standings ahead of McIlroy; Eckroat is 34th. Advertisement Scheffler will tee-off with U.S. Open winner JJ Spaun, who shot 3-over 73, at 10:35 a.m. on Friday. Eckroat will hit off the first tee at 12:30 p.m. with Byeong Hun An. 'I felt confident, which it was nice to feel that this season,' Eckroat said. 'It's been a while.'
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dom Amore: At the Travelers, No.1 Scottie Scheffler once again makes it look so easy
CROMWELL — The language is filled with quotes to suggest how difficult the game of golf has always been: Frustrating, humbling, unpredictable. Playing 18 holes, Mark Twain once opined in our own backyard, 'Is a good walk spoiled.' Advertisement It's not supposed to be as easy as Scottie Scheffler makes it look. Not even the No.1 player in the world is supposed to be as consistently good as Scheffler. But here he was Thursday, back at the TPC River Highlands, back on top of his game, making another round of golf look as easy and matter-of-fact as that stroll in the park. Three birdies on the first four holes, four on the first six, Scheffler made the turn at 30, then eagled 13, birdied 15. Austin Eckroat was in the clubhouse with a round of 62, the best round of his career before Scheffler teed off at 1:45 p.m. Travelers Championship notes: Davis Riley was last in the field, first to birdie in opening round By 5 p.m., Scheffler overtook him and got the lead without neither a bogey nor a bead of sweat in sight. Scheffler's playing partner, J.J. Spaun, who was coming off the week of a lifetime, winning the U.S. Open, came back to earth with a round of 3-over par 73. What some would call once in a lifetime, what some would consider a master class, was, for Scottie Scheffler, Thursday at the Travelers. Advertisement Not until the 17th hole, as the wind picked up, did Scheffler have to scramble, missing the fairway with his tee shot, putting from beyond the edge of the green to leave himself a 14 1/2-foot putt for par. He two-putted, and gave back a stroke to finish with a 62, matching Eckroat atop the leader board at 8-under.. 'Did a lot of good stuff,' Scheffler said, after signing his card. 'Felt like the conditions were challenging, especially late in the day, but I did some good things. I was able to hole some nice putts as well.' Aw, c'mon, Scottie. Really? Scheffler won the Travelers last year, one of nine wins in a season for the ages. At the River Highlands he shot 65-64-64-65 and took the playoff over Tom Kim. He shot a 63 in 2023, so this was his best round in Cromwell. Other than that bit of minutia, this was pretty routine for Scheffler and that, in and of itself, makes it so extraordinary. Advertisement 'I got hot pretty early in the round and got off to a nice start,' he said. 'And then I really kept the momentum through basically hole 15 and then I had one mess-up there on 17, but overall it was a pretty good day..' Travelers Championship first-round scores, second-round tee times This course each year generates discussion on its degree of difficulty. Keegan Bradley set the record in '23, winning it with 23 under par. On Thursday, Bradley, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, finished his round 6-under, matching his partner Rory McIlroy, then took his children to watch Scheffler putt for par on the 18th green. Bradley had a smile on his face, a smile that might've been saying, 'We've got this guy, and they don't.' Scheffler, with his caddy Ted Scott, on the bag for three Bubba Watson wins at the Travelers, snuck in an occasional smile, but played the day with cool precision. As he intimated when he got to town, the course isn't really easy, it's just that the pros are so good. Advertisement Dom Amore: Scottie Scheffler, still No. 1, ready to run it back at Travelers On 13, he hit a dead-solid perfect shot off the tee to set himself up for the eagle that made his day. 'I mean, on 13, that 3-iron I hit in there was really nice.' he said. 'It was pretty much exactly what I was trying to do. It was kind of one where I had to hit it really solid in order to get it there with the water short, and I just did pretty much exactly what I wanted to and it felt nice. Hit it really solid and really straight, just barely right of the pin, and kept a nice flat flight, get it to go through the wind, and it was good. Well struck.' That, Scheffler said, was the only shot of the day that was exactly right. Everything else fell into the 'pretty good' category. When it's better than that, Scheffler does what he did at the Byron Nelson Classic, opening with a 61, finishing 31 under par. Advertisement 'To be fair, I won by a significant margin,' Scheffler said, 'so to call it 30-under I think would be a stretch. I could have won it at 23-under, and also the PGA, same thing. I maybe won at 10, but it was still a pretty sizable cushion.' On some level, Scheffler was more willing to express pride with his performance at the U.S. Open, where he finished 4-over par and tied for seventh at Pennsylvania's very difficult Oakmont CC. 'The way I swung it the first couple rounds was pretty poor,' he said. '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. (Then) kind of bounce back, get myself back in the tournament to give myself an opportunity to win was 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. As much as I want to win every tournament and play perfect golf, it's just not sustainable.' Advertisement If Scheffler's confidence is at a high point, who knows where he will finish the Travelers? It's not really this easy, no golfer is perfect; no golfer is great every day. But Scheffler, 28, is a close as it gets right now, and probably has another decade of peak performance in front of him. Maybe it's not perfection, but the excellence is historic — and the weekend is just beginning. Just savor it. The next Tiger or Jack? World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has begun chasing down all-time great status .
