Scottie Scheffler Nearly Makes Travelers History

Scottie Scheffler nearly gave the Travelers Championship a Friday jolt that would’ve gone straight into PGA TOUR history.

Scheffler poured in birdies all over a softened TPC River Highlands, carding a 10-under 60 and moving to 16-under 124 through two rounds.

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The only thing missing was one final roll.

His 25-foot birdie try on No. 18 stayed out, leaving him one shot shy of becoming just the second player in PGA TOUR history with multiple sub-60 rounds.

That club still belongs only to Jim Furyk, who shot 59 at the 2013 BMW Championship and later authored the TOUR record 58 at the Travelers in 2016.

Scheffler already owns a 59, which came during his rookie season at The Northern Trust in 2020. On Friday, he had a legitimate chance to add another one, and he did it after a shaky early moment.

The world-class ball-striker bogeyed the par-4 second hole after failing to get up and down from the fairway, then spent the rest of the morning turning TPC River Highlands into a scoring playground.

With receptive greens and limited resistance from the course, Scheffler attacked pins and cashed in. By the time he walked off the 18th green, he had set the clubhouse pace at the final signature event of the regular season.

Viktor Hovland made his own run at 59 a few groups earlier. Hovland needed birdies on the final two holes to break 60, but he closed with back-to-back pars and signed for a 61.

That still matched his career-best PGA TOUR round and left him two shots behind Scheffler at 14-under.

Behind them, Akshay Bhatia posted a 62 to climb to 12-under, where he joined first-round leader Eric Cole. Cole cooled off after his hot start to the week, playing his final eight holes in even par on the way to a 65.

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Matt Fitzpatrick, Bud Cauley and Ben Griffin remained in the mix at 10-under after each shot 66, but Friday belonged to Scheffler’s near-history and Hovland’s chase.

Scheffler, the Travelers winner two years ago, is trying to build off a top-four finish at the U.S. Open and end a victory drought dating back to The American Express. After a 60, he’s put himself exactly where he wants to be: at the top, rested and ready for the weekend.

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