The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Pan makes the most of early start, moves up leaderboard
CROMWELL » Playing in the first group of the day, with soft greens and not a lot of wind, C.T. Pan had a chance for a low round Saturday morning at TPC River Highlands. He took every advantage.
Pan made three birdies in a row and had four in his first seven holes. Without a bogey, he shot a 6-under 64, the best score of the Travelers Championship third round. Tied for 43rd after the first two days, he moved up to a tie for fourth with Paul Casey and David Lingmerth, four shots behind leader Jordan Spieth.
After his early start Saturday, he won’t tee off until 1:50 p.m. for Sunday’s final round in the second-tolast group.
“I hit it straight,” Pan said. “I hit a lot of fairways and hit a lot of good iron shots out there. I made a lot of putts.”
That started on the 10th hole, his first, when he sank an 11-foot par putt.
And, as he said, he had a good tee time. Expecting the overnight rain that struck Friday and early Saturday, the PGA Tour delayed Saturday’s start until 10:45 a.m. using both the first and 10th tees. Pan’s two-round score broke perfectly to start him on the back nine.
A morning start can be an advantage at this tournament. Still, Matt Every and Bud Cauley, playing with Pan, shot 69 and 70. A group behind them, Jason Kokrak and Webb Simpson both shot 66, but Geoff Ogilvy posted a 73.
“We went out there, and the first couple of holes were really kind of soft, and then it got windy,” said Keegan Bradley, who started on the front nine 20 minutes behind Pan and 8:15 a.m.: Joel Dahmen, Robert Streb 8:24: Greg Chalmers, Kevin Tway 8:33: Hudson Swafford, Kyle Stanley 8:42: Jonas Blixt, Geoff Ogilvy 8:51: Rod Pampling, Rory McIlroy 9:00: Emiliano Grillo, J.J. Henry 9:09: Tim Wilkinson, Retief Goosen 9:18: Wesley Bryan, Nick Watney 9:27: Kevin Na, Michael Kim 9:36: Vaughn Taylor, Brandt Snedeker 9:45: Brad Fritsch, Tom Hoge 9:54: Ricky Barnes, William McGirt 10:03: Adam Hadwin, Patton Kizzire 10:12: Byeong Hun An, Ryan Palmer 10:21: Kevin Streelman, Fabian Gomez 10:30: Mackenzie Hughes, Mark Hubbard 10:40: Daniel Summerhays, Bud Cauley 10:50: Beau Hossler, Graham DeLaet 11 a.m.: Jim Furyk, Grayson Murray shot a 66. “It firmed up. Its a course where every hole is a birdie hole, and every hole is a bogey hole, too.”
Pan’s three-birdie run, with all three putts inside 8 feet, got him going; he drained a longer birdie putt on 16. But even as conditions got trickier and the wind picked up, he birdied Nos. 3 and 6.
Pan, 25, started playing in Taiwan at 5 years old: His mother worked at a golf course, giving him a place to practice. He attended the University of Washington and turned pro in 2015, playing the 11:10: Anirban Lahiri, Smylie Kaufman 11:20: Hunter Mahan, Johnson Wagner 11:30: Brett Stegmaier, Will MacKenzie 11:40: Russell Knox, Tony Finau 11:50: Troy Merritt, Matt Every Noon: Bryce Molder, Chase Seiffert 12:10 p.m.: Xander Schauffele, Padraig Harrington 12:20: Rick Lamb, Morgan Hoffmann 12:30: Brendan Steele, Patrick Reed 12:40: Brian Harman, Ryan Brehm 12:50: Marc Leishman, Bryson DeChambeau 1 p.m.: Chez Reavie, Patrick Rodgers 1:10: Webb Simpson, Charley Hoffman 1:20: Danny Lee, Jason Kokrak 1:30: David Hearn, Keegan Bradley 1:40: David Lingmerth, Paul Casey 1:50: Daniel Berger, C.T. Pan 2 p.m.: Jordan Spieth, Boo Weekley Travelers that year a week after playing the U.S. Open. He had three rounds under par here and tied for 25th.
Early this year, Pan tied for second at the Farmers Insurance Open, but he has missed the cut at 10 of 14 tournaments since. He’s still seeking his first victory on tour, though he has won two tournaments on the Canadian tour.
“I keep telling myself, if you keep knocking on the door, one day will be your day,” Pan said. “This is a position I want to be and something great I want to do.”