Denny McCarthy came tantalisingly close to a 59 but was happy to settle for a 10-under-par 60 to take the lead after a low-scoring first round of the Travelers Championship on Thursday in Cromwell, Connecticut.
McCarthy had nine birdies through 15 holes at TPC River Highlands, a par-70 course. Finishing his round on the front nine, he had pars at Nos. 7 and 8 before he nearly holed out for eagle at the par-4 ninth to hit the magic number. His approach shot bounced off a small hill next to the green, redirecting his ball straight toward the pin, where it grazed the edge of the hole.
McCarthy sank a 5-foot putt for birdie to wrap up his 60. He shot 30 on both nines.
The sparkling round left McCarthy a mere two strokes ahead of Keegan Bradley, who set the pace in the morning with a 62, and Australia's Adam Scott, who was also in range of a 59 late in the afternoon before a late double bogey.
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The PGA Tour still hasn't seen a round of 59 since Scottie Scheffler's second round at the 2020 Northern Trust. Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, is in fourth at the Travelers after a 7-under 63.
McCarthy, 30, knew exactly where his score stood as he took aim at the ninth green.
"I had been hitting a nice little cutty shot all day with mid-irons, so I just gripped down on a 7-iron and I was trying to cut in there, and just leaked it a little, saw it kick and couldn't see the rest," McCarthy said. "We were just going off the crowd's reaction at that point.
"In the air I wasn't expecting it to be anywhere close to going in, but obviously it was exciting that it had a chance."
The Maryland native has yet to win a PGA Tour event but lost a playoff to Viktor Hovland of Norway at the Memorial Tournament earlier this month.
McCarthy is considered one of the best putters on tour, but now he feels the rest of his game is catching up, too.
"Ball-striking is just slowly creeping along," he said. "Driving of the ball has been pretty good. Yeah, just trying to just find ways to get better. Sometimes that's just mentally. Like today, I showed up just, like, really positive, laughing, joking with a bunch of people. Like, I don't know why. I was just in a good mood to start my round today. That definitely helps."
Scott's card was decorated with 11 birdies, a bogey and a brutal double-bogey 6 at the 17th hole. With 59 still in play for the tour veteran, Scott's approach shot landed well short and in the water.
"It's a shame, but it's hard to be disappointed with 62," Scott said.
Bradley kept up his trend of performing well in New England. The 37-year-old Vermont native's blazing opening round pushed his all-time score-to-par at the Travelers to -75, his best at any event. His best finish at the Travelers was a tie for second in 2019.
"This is a special week," Bradley said. "I don't get to have my family out here a lot anymore with school, and having them out there is an advantage for me."
Scheffler continued his consistently stellar run of form by carding seven birdies and no bogeys Thursday. He entered the week with four straight top-three finishes, five straight top-fives and 16 straight top-12s in official events.
"I try to be consistent. I think that's something we always strive for as players," Scheffler said. "This year I put up a lot of good scores and it's been fun. Just hoping to improve a little bit at a time."
Irishman Shane Lowry, Chez Reavie and Eric Cole are tied for fifth at 6-under 64. A host of players at 5-under 65 included Patrick Cantlay and South Korea's Sungjae Im. Defending champion Xander Schauffele opened with a 2-under 68, as did Wyndham Clark in his first start after winning the U.S. Open last week.
World No. 3 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland made the first hole-in-one of his PGA Tour career on the 214-yard, par-3 eighth hole. He hit a 5-iron and watched as his ball took one small hop before tracking straight into the cup. McIlroy also had five birdies and five bogeys on his way to a 2-under 68.
