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ARN News Center
38 minutes ago
- Sport
- ARN News Center
Scottie Scheffler tied for Travelers lead after chasing a 59
After denying that TPC River Highlands is too easy, Scottie Scheffler was on pace for a round of 59 there Thursday in the opening round of the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn. Instead, the World No. 1 and defending champion carded an 8-under-par 62, tying Austin Eckroat for the 18-hole lead. At the $20 million signature event, the last of the regular season, Scheffler and Eckroat are two shots ahead of Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, Wyndham Clark and 2023 Travelers champion Keegan Bradley (6-under 64). Scheffler was 9 under par through 15 holes at the par-70 course but settled for par at No. 16 and made his only bogey of the day at No. 17 after overshooting the green. Scheffler, who shot 59 once before in his PGA Tour career (2020 Northern Trust), said the potential milestone didn't enter his mind. "When I came out to do my warmup it was still pretty calm. By the time I got to the first tee, it was blowing 20 miles an hour and it was sustained at that for most of our round," Scheffler said of the conditions. "It maybe went down to 10, to 12 and then it would gust to 30. It was pretty challenging out there." The low round came one day after Scheffler said he didn't believe TPC River Highlands was too easy for tour professionals. The winning scores the past two years have been 23 and 22 under par. "I've always had a preference for the tougher tests that we have," he added Thursday. "That's always been my preference since I was a young kid. I like the challenge of playing difficult golf courses, and I like the challenge of playing against really good fields, as well." Earlier in the day, Eckroat put up a bogey-free 62 highlighted by an eagle-birdie-birdie stretch at Nos. 13-15. The eagle came on a 35 1/2-foot putt. The 26-year-old won twice on tour last year but is struggling this season, as he ranks outside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup race. "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," Eckroat 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." McIlroy continued his upward trajectory after missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open and tying for 19th at the U.S. Open. He made three birdies on each nine while keeping a bogey-free card. McIlroy played alongside Bradley, the U.S. captain for the upcoming Ryder Cup. "There was definitely a lot more 'Captain America' and 'USA' chants out there, which is cool," the European star said. "It's cool for Keegan to be here, be the U.S. Ryder Cup captain and obviously get all that support." Cameron Young is alone in sixth at 5-under 65, and a large tie at 4-under 66 included Norway's Viktor Hovland, England's Tommy Fleetwood and Australia's Jason Day. J.J. Spaun, playing alongside Scheffler after winning his first major title at the U.S. Open on Sunday, struggled to a 3-over 73. There is no 36-hole cut at the tournament. Jordan Spieth withdrew due to a neck/upper back injury that began to bother him on the practice range. Spieth said it was the first time he'd ever dropped out of a tournament early, on the PGA Tour or otherwise. "I've never withdrawn from an event ever, anywhere, at any level, so I didn't really know what to do," said Spieth, who was 5 over through 12 holes. "It just became too much. 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."
The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- Climate
- The Advertiser
World's top player and a struggler off to flying start
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler has laid down the marker with an eight-under 62 to share the lead with Austin Eckroat in the Travelers Championship. 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 on Thursday. "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 best player - and settled 10 feet away for birdie. "That three-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. "Felt great over the putter, and just a really solid day, and I felt confident, which it was nice to feel that this season," said Eckroat. "It's been a while." US Open champion JJ 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. Jason Day was the best of the Australian contingent making a four-under 66 to be tied seventh. The former world No.1 made five birdies, including four in a row starting on the 13th, with his only bogey on the sixth. Cam Davis (71), Adam Scott (72) and Min Woo Lee (73) are all in the second half of the field but there is no halfway cut in this tournament. World No.1 Scottie Scheffler has laid down the marker with an eight-under 62 to share the lead with Austin Eckroat in the Travelers Championship. 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 on Thursday. "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 best player - and settled 10 feet away for birdie. "That three-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. "Felt great over the putter, and just a really solid day, and I felt confident, which it was nice to feel that this season," said Eckroat. "It's been a while." US Open champion JJ 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. Jason Day was the best of the Australian contingent making a four-under 66 to be tied seventh. The former world No.1 made five birdies, including four in a row starting on the 13th, with his only bogey on the sixth. Cam Davis (71), Adam Scott (72) and Min Woo Lee (73) are all in the second half of the field but there is no halfway cut in this tournament. World No.1 Scottie Scheffler has laid down the marker with an eight-under 62 to share the lead with Austin Eckroat in the Travelers Championship. 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 on Thursday. "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 best player - and settled 10 feet away for birdie. "That three-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. "Felt great over the putter, and just a really solid day, and I felt confident, which it was nice to feel that this season," said Eckroat. "It's been a while." US Open champion JJ 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. Jason Day was the best of the Australian contingent making a four-under 66 to be tied seventh. The former world No.1 made five birdies, including four in a row starting on the 13th, with his only bogey on the sixth. Cam Davis (71), Adam Scott (72) and Min Woo Lee (73) are all in the second half of the field but there is no halfway cut in this tournament. World No.1 Scottie Scheffler has laid down the marker with an eight-under 62 to share the lead with Austin Eckroat in the Travelers Championship. 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 on Thursday. "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 best player - and settled 10 feet away for birdie. "That three-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. "Felt great over the putter, and just a really solid day, and I felt confident, which it was nice to feel that this season," said Eckroat. "It's been a while." US Open champion JJ 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. Jason Day was the best of the Australian contingent making a four-under 66 to be tied seventh. The former world No.1 made five birdies, including four in a row starting on the 13th, with his only bogey on the sixth. Cam Davis (71), Adam Scott (72) and Min Woo Lee (73) are all in the second half of the field but there is no halfway cut in this tournament.
The Star
4 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Over 50s are increasingly turning to streaming to watch sports
Sports streaming is increasingly appealing to viewers aged 50 and over. — AFP Relaxnews Often considered diehard fans of linear television, viewers over the age of 50 are quietly but decisively shifting toward streaming. Between 2022 and 2024, their consumption of streaming sports content reportedly increased by 21%, according to Nielsen. This shift is forcing sports and media companies to rethink the digital experience for a wider, more mature, and increasingly online audience. Some stereotypes die hard. People typically assume that young people are addicted to streaming services, while older people are loyal to their TV sets. However, a new study challenges this preconception. According to the "2025 Global Sports Report,' published by Nielsen, streaming consumption of sports content has grown significantly among sports fans aged 50 and over, with a 21% increase recorded between 2022 and 2024. This is significant growth, reflecting a cultural shift. While streaming platforms have long been popular primarily with younger generations, they are now extending their influence to a more mature audience that has historically been loyal to traditional TV channels. "Live sports remain a powerful driver of fan engagement," the report points out. And it is precisely this lever that has prompted platforms to invest heavily in broadcasting rights, thereby attracting a new audience. Recently, YouTube achieved a symbolic milestone by announcing that it would livestream an NFL game for free, a historic first for both the video platform and the sports league. But the Google subsidiary is not alone in investing in sports streaming. Netflix already made a notable foray into the field at the end of 2024 by livestreaming two games, while Amazon Prime Video plans to make a splash with "Thursday Night Football,' scheduled for December 25, 2025. The e-commerce giant is no stranger to this field: it already screens several soccer matches as well as French Open tennis tournament matches. Meanwhile, linear television is trying to reinvent itself to stay relevant. In the United States, the new TGL golf league, which is interactive, high-tech, and tailored for the screen, is a perfect example of this. Since the end of 2024, its fan base has grown by 17%, and each game in its first season attracted an average of 513,000 viewers on ESPN channels, more than college basketball at the same time last year, according to Nielsen. Designed to appeal to young people, the formula appears to be working, since 32% of viewers aged 18 to 34 were not regular PGA Tour viewers. This demonstrates that innovation in formats can revitalize traditional sports... and open them up to new audiences that have previously been largely untapped. – AFP Relaxnews
NBC Sports
5 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
In battle of tour pros' sons, Gutschewski beats Kuchar for Western Junior title
Trevor Gutschewski proved Thursday that winning golf is never that far away. Gutschewski, the incoming Florida freshman and son of tour pro Scott Gutschewski, had mostly struggled since capturing the U.S. Junior Amateur last July. But fresh off a missed cut at the U.S. Open at Oakmont, Gutschewski got back to his victorious ways with a one-shot win over another son of a PGA Tour veteran, Cameron Kuchar, Matt Kuchar's oldest. With three birdies in his last six holes at the Harvester Club in Rhodes, Iowa, Gutschewski carded a closing 2-under 70 to finish at 7 under. Kuchar, who is committed to TCU for 2026, joined Gutschewski in playing his back nine in 2 under, though a second-round 74 proved too costly after his leading 67 after the first round. Gutschewski beat recent Sunnehanna Amateur winner Tyler Watts in last summer's U.S. Junior final, but he followed with a missed cut at the Korn Ferry Tour's Pinnacle Bank Championship, T-262 at the U.S. Amateur, T-55 at the AJGA Junior Players, T-13 at Nebraska Open and T-24 at the Jones Cup Junior to close the year. Then last March he beat only four players at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. He followed with a T-71 at the Terra Cotta Invitational and then posted back-to-back 80s last week at Oakmont. He now joins a list of past Western Junior champions that dates to 1914 and includes Bobby Clampett (1978), Willie Wood (1979), Jim Furyk (1987), Trip Kuehne (1991), Hunter Mahan (1999), Rickie Fowler (2005), Patrick Rodgers (2010), Collin Morikawa (2013) and Kevin Yu (2015).
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Scottie Scheffler tied for Travelers lead after chasing a 59
AFTER denying that TPC River Highlands is too easy, Scottie Scheffler was on pace for a round of 59 there Thursday in the opening round of the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn. Instead, the World No. 1 and defending champion carded an 8-under-par 62, tying Austin Eckroat for the 18-hole lead. At the US$20 million signature event, the last of the regular season, Scheffler and Eckroat are two shots ahead of Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, Wyndham Clark and 2023 Travelers champion Keegan Bradley (6-under 64). Scheffler was 9 under par through 15 holes at the par-70 course but settled for par at No. 16 and made his only bogey of the day at No. 17 after overshooting the green. Scheffler, who shot 59 once before in his PGA Tour career (2020 Northern Trust), said the potential milestone didn't enter his mind. "When I came out to do my warmup it was still pretty calm. By the time I got to the first tee, it was blowing 20 miles an hour and it was sustained at that for most of our round," Scheffler said of the conditions. "It maybe went down to 10, to 12 and then it would gust to 30. It was pretty challenging out there." The low round came one day after Scheffler said he didn't believe TPC River Highlands was too easy for tour professionals. The winning scores the past two years have been 23 and 22 under par. "I've always had a preference for the tougher tests that we have," he added Thursday. "That's always been my preference since I was a young kid. I like the challenge of playing difficult golf courses, and I like the challenge of playing against really good fields, as well." Earlier in the day, Eckroat put up a bogey-free 62 highlighted by an eagle-birdie-birdie stretch at Nos. 13-15. The eagle came on a 35 1/2-foot putt. The 26-year-old won twice on tour last year but is struggling this season, as he ranks outside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup race. "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," Eckroat 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." McIlroy continued his upward trajectory after missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open and tying for 19th at the US Open. He made three birdies on each nine while keeping a bogey-free card. McIlroy played alongside Bradley, the US captain for the upcoming Ryder Cup. "There was definitely a lot more 'Captain America' and 'USA' chants out there, which is cool," the European star said. "It's cool for Keegan to be here, be the US Ryder Cup captain and obviously get all that support." Cameron Young is alone in sixth at 5-under 65, and a large tie at 4-under 66 included Norway's Viktor Hovland, England's Tommy Fleetwood and Australia's Jason Day. J.J. Spaun, playing alongside Scheffler after winning his first major title at the U.S. Open on Sunday, struggled to a 3-over 73. There is no 36-hole cut at the tournament. Jordan Spieth withdrew due to a neck/upper back injury that began to bother him on the practice range. Spieth said it was the first time he'd ever dropped out of a tournament early, on the PGA Tour or otherwise. "I've never withdrawn from an event ever, anywhere, at any level, so I didn't really know what to do," said Spieth, who was 5 over through 12 holes. "It just became too much. 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." — REUTERS
