The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
10 TAKEAWAYS FROM THE THIRD ROUND OF THE TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Paul Casey is atop the leaderboard after 54 holes at the Travelers Championship. Casey will head into Sunday at 16under par, four shots ahead of Russell Henley and five in front of J.B. Holmes, Anirban Lahiri and Brian Harman.
Here’s the sights, sounds and reactions from the third round at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.
1. CASEY IN CONTROL
Paul Casey finds himself in the driver’s seat after turning in the lowest score of the day, an 8-under 62. Casey, the world’s 13th-ranked golfer, last won at the Valspar Championship in March. Asked how he plans to keep the momentum going into Sunday, Casey, who finished as high as second in his three previous appearances in Cromwell, joked, “I don’t know. Eat barbeque again.”
2. WATCH WHERE YOU’RE WALKING
Rory McIlroy’s day started off on a rather odd note when a squirrel sprinted across the first tee box and stopped for a few seconds to stare him down. The situation drew a chuckle out of McIlroy, who stepped back from the tee to watch the critter run wild. McIlroy ended up bogeying the hole after landing his tee shot on the cart path. No word on what happened to the squirrel.
3. BUBBA IN THE MIX
Two-time tournament champion Bubba Watson will head into Sunday tied with four others at 10-under par, six shots behind the lead. The lefty moved as low as 12-under on the day before bogeying the 16th and 17th holes. The lackluster finish left him with the same score as Jason Day, Ryan Blaum, Beau Hossler and Bryson DeChambeau. Watson knows he will need to put forth an even better effort on Sunday to win. “My 7-under (Friday), I need to do better than that,” he said. “I’m going to have to get like 10. If the weather’s better than this, a little bit better, then the guys are going to make birdies.”
4. ACE IN THE HOLE
James Hahn, ranked 82nd in the world rankings, recorded the first ace of the tournament. It came on the par-3 11th hole from 154 yards.
5. SPIETH FALLS DOWN THE LEADERBOARD
There hasn’t been a repeat champion at the Travelers since Phil Mickelson in 2001-02. Jordan Spieth’s hopes of matching him all but evaporated on Saturday. A 1-over 71 left the defending champion at 3-under for the tournament and in a tie for 46th. Spieth bogeyed three of the final six holes, including the par-5 13th — the same hole on which he had a triplebogey on Friday.
6. PUTTING WITH THE STARS
A pair of local golfers will be paired with the sport’s biggest names on Sunday. Fairfield’s J.J. Henry will tee off alongside Spieth at 9:54 a.m., and Madison’s Brett Stegmaier will tee off with U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka at 10:40 a.m.
7. FINISHING STRONG
Casey is bidding to become the seventh player in tournament history to win after carrying the lead into Sunday. The previous six include Spieth (2017), Freddie Jacobson (2011), Stewart Cink (2008), Henry (2006), Peter Jacobson (2003) and Mickelson (2001).
8. PLAN OF ATTACK
Jason Day believes his fate for the tournament could depend on his performance on the back-nine. “The back side tomorrow is going to be key,” Day said. “If you can get something going on the back side, pretty much from 11 on, if you can get from 11 to 18 at 3- or 4-under par … then you should give yourself a pretty good shot at it.”
9. HENLEY MAKING A CHARGE
Russell Henley has three tournament wins on his ledger, the most recent of which came last year at the Houston Open. Henley, the world’s 55th-ranked player, has finished with either par or birdie on 71 of the 72 holes on which he’s played this week. “I hit a lot of greens again,” Henley said, “and didn't quite take advantage of the opportunities I had. I had a couple harsh lipouts. But overall, it was a pretty solid round.”
10. HOLMES HITS IT ON 14
One of the best shots of the day came from J.B. Holmes, who eagled the par-4 14th hole. “There is that tree just short of the green that you have to worry about. … If it doesn’t hit the tree, it’s going to be pretty good,” he said. “You know, it bounced up there and hopped in the hole.”