The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Spieth grabs early lead at Travelers
World’s sixth-ranked golfer up by one after first round of play in Cromwell
CROMWELL » The Travelers Championship did its job recruiting three of the biggest names in golf to join the field this year. The question that remained: Would any of them be in contention for the title come Sunday?
Jordan Spieth took a big first step toward that possibility in Thursday’s opening round. He fired a 7-under-par 63 at TPC River Highlands and leads by a shot.
“You’re not going to shoot 7-under every round,” Spieth said. “It’s just not going to be possible out here, and I recognize that, so it’s about waiting for my chances to come the same way that we did it today.”
Spieth birdied the 18th hole, sticking his approach to 4 feet, then draining the putt for the outright lead and to the delight of the crowd.
The 23-year-old from Dallas, Texas, birdied three of his first four holes in his first official round at TPC River Highlands.
“Tremendous support when we walked onto the first tee. It was unreal,” Spieth said. “Normally, that kind of stuff wouldn’t take me back. But it was above and beyond. I thought that was really, really special. People really appreciate the guys coming and play-
ing this event.”
Brett Stegmaier and Johnson Wagner trail Spieth by a shot. Graham DeLaet and Troy Merritt sit at 5-under, tied for fourth place.
As far as the other two “big names,” Rory McIlroy, also making his first appearance at TPC River Highlands, is tied for 19th place at 3-under 67. Jason Day, ranked fourth in the world, never recovered from making double bogey on No. 12, his third hole of the day, and finished with a 72.
“I hit good putts and it didn’t go in. A few of those go in, it’s a different story, and all of a sudden you’re shooting something in the low 60s and you’re feeling really good about yourself,” said McIlroy, the highest ranked player in the field at No. 3.
Spieth said Wednesday that scheduling the Travelers had been the issue in the past, but made a it a point to play the event this year. He committed the week before the deadline.
Before his Wednesday pro-am, his caddie, Michael Greller, told him, “This course is tailor-made for you.”
Spieth’s only bogey came at the ninth hole. He also had consecutive birdies on 13 and 14 to get into a three-way tie for the lead.
“Even the ones that missed today were very close, which is very exciting going forward,” Spieth said.
Stegmaier may be an unfamiliar name nationally, but he is well-known in this state. A Madison native, this is Stegmaier’s second season on the PGA Tour.