Hughes shoots 60 for Travelers lead
CROMWELL, Conn. — Mackenzie Hughes did his part to help the PGA Tour switch its focus back to golf amid growing concerns about the coronavirus.
The 29-year-old Canadian shot a career-low 60 Thursday at the Travelers Championship, good enough for a three-shot lead over top-ranked Rory McIlroy, 10th-ranked Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland, who were tied for second after a day of low scoring at TPC River Highlands.
Hughes, whose only PGA Tour win came at the RSM Classic in November 2016, had a chance to shoot the 12th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history, but his 40-foot birdie attempt on his final hole came up short. Jim Furyk shot a 12-under 58 on the same course four years ago, the lowest score in a PGA Tour event.
Former Baylor School and University of Tennessee golfer Stephan Jaeger shot a 58 during the 2016 Ellie Mae Classic on the developmental circuit now known as the Korn Ferry Tour, six years after Ryo Ishikawa had the same score at a Japan Golf Tour event.
“I kind of joked walking off there that 59 wasn’t even the record because of Jim’s 58,” Hughes said. “It’s probably not even that special around here. But as a personal milestone, it would have been neat.”
As it turned out, it was still good for a cushion — though not as big as might normally be expected.
Phil Mickelson, paired with McIlroy in his first competitive round since turning 50 years old, was one of six
players to shoot a 64. Bryson DeChambeau’s 65 was the worst score in the marquee threesome.
Tied with Mickelson for fifth were Tyler Duncan, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Seung-Yul Noh and Michael Thompson.
Baylor School graduates Keith Mitchell (69, tied for 79th) and Luke List (71, tied for 126th) will try to make it to the weekend in Connecticut after both missed the cut at last week’s RBC Heritage tournament on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.
There were 106 players who broke par Thursday. The record for a day at TPC River Highlands was set in 2011, when 111 players were 1 under or better in the second round.
Hughes’ bogey-free performance included a 30-foot birdie putt on his penultimate hole, the par-3 eighth. Patrick Cantlay was the last to shoot 60 at the course, doing so as an amateur in 2011.
McIlroy, who also started on the back nine, eagled the par-5 13th and followed that up with two straight birdies. He made four more birdies on the front nine for a 31.
The four-time major champion from Northern Ireland played both of the first two events in the PGA Tour’s return from a three-month shutdown during the pandemic, tying for 32nd at the Charles Schwab Challenge and sharing 41st at the RBC Heritage. Those tournaments were played without fans at the course in the interest of health and safety, and that stipulation didn’t change this week.
“It’s just been nice to get back into some competitive golf again,” McIlroy said. “You know, it doesn’t feel the same because you’re not having thousands of people reacting to your birdies and getting that going. I felt the weekends have been a little flat for me just because that’s when you’re in contention and that’s where you sort of start to feel it. Thursdays and Fridays don’t feel that different to be honest, but into the weekends they do.”
The run-up to the tournament was consumed by news about the coronavirus and questions about how long the circuit can continue after two players — Nick Watney and Cameron Champ — and the caddies for Brooks Koepka and Graeme McDowell tested positive. Those were the only four positive tests of the 1,382 conducted by the tour since its return.