Latest news with #KeeganBradley
Irish Independent
an hour 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.'
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Climate
- Arab News
Scheffler hits a perfect shot and plenty of great ones for a 62 to share lead at Travelers
CROMWELL, Connecticut: Scottie Scheffler had one of those rare rounds where he hit a shot so pure it makes his confidence soar. So many other shots were pretty good, too, and they added to an 8-under 62 to share the lead Thursday with Austin Eckroat in the Travelers Championship. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport The week after a rough-and-tumble US Open was a welcome break for so many at the TPC River Highlands, even with the rough just as long (but not quite as thick) as soaked Oakmont. Rory McIlroy played bogey-free for a 66 and didn't look to break too much of a sweat. '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,' McIlroy said. Scheffler faced the hot afternoon when a refreshing breeze turned into a strong wind, and he wasted no time getting in the mix with four birdies in six holes and a 30 on the front nine. And then came the par-5 13th, 236 yards away into the wind, over a pond to a pin on the right. It was perfect — that's coming from golf's No. 1 player — and settled 10 feet away for birdie. 'That 3-iron I hit in there was really nice,' Scheffler 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.' McIlroy was at 64 along with Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark. Another shot back was Cameron Young. He was in the mix late on Sunday at Oakmont, and started the Travelers Championship by going from the rough to the bunker, and then a three-putt from 25 feet for a double bogey. 'I managed to get around Oakmont for four days with no doubles and I made it zero holes here,' Young said. 'Typically that's not kind of what you expect around here.' Not to worry. He followed with eight birdies in a day with a new routine. His caddie went down with a stomach virus and the best option was to turn the bag over to his father, Dave Young, recently retired as the longtime pro at Sleepy Hollow. The surprise was Eckroat, already a two-time winner on the PGA Tour but struggling so much this year that he has only two finishes in the top 20 and eight missed cuts. The last two weeks served him well, however, as Eckroat said he figured out how to eliminate the miss to the left. He played the last six holes in 5-under par, starting with a 35-foot eagle putt on No. 13. 'I wasn't fearing the left ball today, which is huge, and then whenever you're feeling comfortable with other things, other things start to fall in line,' Eckroat said. 'Felt great over the putter, and just a really solid day, and I felt confident, which it was nice to feel that this season. It's been a while.' US Open champion J.J. Spaun felt the fatigue, and the steamy heat didn't help the cause. Playing along Scheffler, he was hanging in there until it took him two chips and two putts to cover 40 feet for a double bogey on No. 12, and a bogey-bogey finish for a 73. Jordan Spieth didn't even make it to the finish line. This was the first time Spieth didn't need a sponsor exemption for a $20 million signature event, and he only lasted 13 holes when his shoulder blade got tight on the range, spread across the back of his neck to the other side and left him no choice but to withdraw. Scheffler saying he hit a great shot is worth paying attention to because it doesn't happen very often. He rarely hits it offline. But this was something special. 'Hit it really solid and really straight, just barely right of the pin, and kept it nice flat flight, get it to go through the wind, and it was good,' he said. In fact, he could only recall two other shots in recent years — a 6-iron on the fifth hole in the final round at the 2022 Masters, a 9-iron he hit on the par-3 third hole in the final round of the 2023 Players Championship. 'Those are shots that kind of get lost in terms of the tournament,' he said. 'I'm not even sure if I birdied No. 3 at The Players, and I know I didn't birdie No. 5 during the Masters. But those are the shots when you're playing and you're in the moment, those are the ones that give me a lot of confidence.' It's hard to imagine him needing much more of that. He hasn't finished out of the top 10 since The Players in March, a stretch of eight tournaments. He didn't hit the ball very well for two days at the US Open and still had an outside chance on the back nine And in his 19th round at the TPC River Highlands, he posted his lowest score at 62.
Associated Press
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Scheffler hits a perfect shot and plenty of great ones for a 62 to share lead at Travelers
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler had one of those rare rounds where he hit a shot so pure it makes his confidence soar. So many other shots were pretty good, too, and they added to an 8-under 62 to share the lead Thursday with Austin Eckroat in the Travelers Championship. The week after a rough-and-tumble U.S. Open was a welcome break for so many at the TPC River Highlands, even with the rough just as long (but not quite as thick) as soaked Oakmont. Rory McIlroy played bogey-free for a 66 and didn't look to break too much of a sweat. '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,' McIlroy said. Scheffler faced the hot afternoon when a refreshing breeze turned into a strong wind, and he wasted no time getting in the mix with four birdies in six holes and a 30 on the front nine. And then came the par-5 13th, 236 yards away into the wind, over a pond to a pin on the right. It was perfect — that's coming from golf's No. 1 player — and settled 10 feet away for birdie. 'That 3-iron I hit in there was really nice,' Scheffler 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.' McIlroy was at 64 along with Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark. Another shot back was Cameron Young. He was in the mix late on Sunday at Oakmont, and started the Travelers Championship by going from the rough to the bunker, and then a three-putt from 25 feet for a double bogey. 'I managed to get around Oakmont for four days with no doubles and I made it zero holes here,' Young said. 'Typically that's not kind of what you expect around here.' Not to worry. He followed with eight birdies in a day with a new routine. His caddie went down with a stomach virus and the best option was to turn the bag over to his father, Dave Young, recently retired as the longtime pro at Sleepy Hollow. The surprise was Eckroat, already a two-time winner on the PGA Tour but struggling so much this year that he has only two finishes in the top 20 and eight missed cuts. The last two weeks served him well, however, as Eckroat said he figured out how to eliminate the miss to the left. He played the last six holes in 5-under par, starting with a 35-foot eagle putt on No. 13. 'I wasn't fearing the left ball today, which is huge, and then whenever you're feeling comfortable with other things, other things start to fall in line,' Eckroat said. 'Felt great over the putter, and just a really solid day, and I felt confident, which it was nice to feel that this season. It's been a while.' U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun felt the fatigue, and the steamy heat didn't help the cause. Playing along Scheffler, he was hanging in there until it took him two chips and two putts to cover 40 feet for a double bogey on No. 12, and a bogey-bogey finish for a 73. Jordan Spieth didn't even make it to the finish line. This was the first time Spieth didn't need a sponsor exemption for a $20 million signature event, and he only lasted 13 holes when his shoulder blade got tight on the range, spread across the back of his neck to the other side and left him no choice but to withdraw. Scheffler saying he hit a great shot is worth paying attention to because it doesn't happen very often. He rarely hits it offline. But this was something special. 'Hit it really solid and really straight, just barely right of the pin, and kept it nice flat flight, get it to go through the wind, and it was good,' he said. In fact, he could only recall two other shots in recent years — a 6-iron on the fifth hole in the final round at the 2022 Masters, a 9-iron he hit on the par-3 third hole in the final round of the 2023 Players Championship. 'Those are shots that kind of get lost in terms of the tournament,' he said. 'I'm not even sure if I birdied No. 3 at The Players, and I know I didn't birdie No. 5 during the Masters. But those are the shots when you're playing and you're in the moment, those are the ones that give me a lot of confidence.' It's hard to imagine him needing much more of that. He hasn't finished out of the top 10 since The Players in March, a stretch of eight tournaments. He didn't hit the ball very well for two days at the U.S. Open and still had an outside chance on the back nine And in his 19th round at the TPC River Highlands, he posted his lowest score at 62. ___ AP golf:
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
McIlroy two behind Scheffler at Travelers Championship
2025 Travelers Championship first round-8 A Eckroat, S Scheffler (Both US); -6 W Clark, K Bradley (Both US), R McIlroy (NI) Selected others: -4 J Day (Aus), T Fleetwood (Eng), V Hovland (Nor)Full leaderboardWorld number one Scottie Scheffler hit an opening-round 62 to tie the lead at the Travelers Championship, with Rory McIlroy just two shots behind on six 28, finished in the top 10 of last week's US Open and was back to his very best on Thursday with an eagle on the par-five 13th the American won the event last year and joins Austin Eckroat at the top of the leaderboard in Connecticut, with five-time major winner McIlroy, Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark all hitting said: "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."Three-time Major winner Jordan Spieth was forced to withdraw after 13 holes with a shoulder was five over for his round, with no birdies, when he informed playing partner Luke Clanton he could not continue and was taken off in a cart."I've never withdrawn from an event ever, anywhere, at any level, so I didn't really know what to do. It just became too much," Spieth said."I didn't see it turning around until probably Saturday. These things kind of last an extra day, and no matter what I was going to do, it was just going to be... I don't know, it's unfortunate."I've been doing everything right, and I think it was just very random." Clark 'deeply regrets' damaging locker Former US Open champion Clark said he "deeply regrets" the damage done to the century-old locker he was using at Oakmont last reportedly damaged his locker while frustrated at his said: "I've had a lot of highs and lows in my career, especially this year some lows."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 the year and things that come up."
Irish Independent
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Rory McIlroy smiling again after stunning 64 at Travelers Championship
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.' 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. ADVERTISEMENT 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.'
