Twenty-four of the 65 players who made the second-round cut at the Travelers Championship shot even par or worse on Saturday. Two of them were in the final pairing. On moving day, there was lots of moving. Here are three things you should know after the third round of the Travelers at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., played earlier Saturday due to storms.
Brendon Todd leads
Brendon Todd took the most advantage. Starting the day four shots out of the lead, Todd fired a career-low 61, 9-under at River Highlands, to grab a two-shot lead over Dustin Johnson and a three-shot lead Kevin Streelman entering Sunday’s final round.
Todd had been one of the PGA Tour’s hottest golfers before its three-month hiatus due to the coronavirus. He had won in back-to-back weeks back in November, one of three players on Tour this season to win multiple times this season, and he did not miss a cut in his 10 tournaments after that. He then missed the cut at both the Charles Schwab Challenge and the RBC Heritage this week, where’s made just one bogey through three rounds.
“I’ve felt pretty good, especially as I’ve played weeks in a row,” Todd said. “It seems like since the fall, whenever I get a two- or three-week stretch in a row, I tend to be playing better by the end of it. That’s just something I’m using to my advantage now after missing two cuts. I’m peaking in the third week and hopefully I can get it done tomorrow.”
Several are close
Dustin Johnson also took advantage. Starting the day six shots out of the lead, Johnson also shot a career-low 61 with a nine-birdie round.
Johnson has played all three tournaments in the Tour’s return, and he’s played three putters. This week’s seems to be working.
“Every hole I felt like I was giving myself an opportunity to make birdie, and I feel like I’m rolling the putter well, so I just need to get myself in a position where I’ve got a chance to make a putt,” Johnson said.
Kevin Streelman was a stroke behind Todd and Johnson on Saturday after an 8-under 62, and he’s three shots behind Todd and one behind Johnson overall. Mackenzie Hughes, the first-round leader, is four shots back, and Bryson DeChambeau is five behind.
Phil Mickelson, the second-round leader, and Will Gordon, who started the day a shot out of the lead, each shot 1-over 71.
Jason Day tests negative
Jason Day tested negative for the coronavirus a couple of hours after he had requested a test before the third round and was reassigned to play by himself in the final tee time.
Day was originally scheduled to play in the 8:09 a.m. grouping off the 10th tee with Rafa Cabrera Bello and Roger Sloan after making the second-round cut. He was then moved back to 9:15 off the 10th, the same time as the leaders off the 1st tee.
Also Saturday, the PGA Tour updated its testing protocols. The Tour will not allow any player, caddie or anyone else inside its on-site “bubble” without testing negative for Covid-19 in market. Previously, those people were allowed on property at the beginning of the week as they waited for their test results, albeit with certain restrictions.