Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick headline pack chasing Scottie Scheffler at Travelers Championship

CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler could not convert a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Friday at the Travelers Championship, narrowly missing out on a chance to join Jim Furyk as the only players in PGA TOUR history with two sub-60 rounds.

Scheffler had to settle for a 10-under 60 on the soft TPC River Highlands course, setting an early target atop the scoreboard on a day of extreme low scoring at the final signature event of the regular season.

“Going out yesterday in the afternoon, when the greens get firm out here and the wind starts to blow, it can get tricky pretty quickly,” Scheffler said. “Going out this morning, you definitely had a feeling the conditions were going to be easier, so you need to go out there and try and take advantage of it.”

Scheffler was at 16-under 124, two shots ahead of Viktor Hovland.

“At the end of the day, I was very focused on just my execution out there,” Scheffler said. “Who knows what the lead is going to be after today. I’ve put myself in position now this week. Go home, get some rest, and get ready for tomorrow.”

Playing three groups in front of Scheffler, Hovland needed to birdie the final two holes for a 59. He settled for a pair of pars and a 61, matching his career best on TOUR.

“Certainly it was more gettable today than it was even yesterday,” Hovland said.

Akshay Bhatia had a 62 to match first-round leader Eric Cole at 12 under.

“I know how this golf course can play,” Bhatia said. “You got to kind of keep making birdies and try and limit mistakes.”

Cole parred the final eight holes in a 65.

“Maybe just being tired or something and making some tired swings,” Cole said.

Matt Fitzpatrick, Bud Cauley and Ben Griffin were tied for fifth at 10 under, each shooting 66.

Scheffler shot 59 in his rookie season in 2020 in the second round of THE NORTHERN TRUST at TPC Boston, another rain-softened course that featured low scoring.

“Some days they’re kind of hanging on the edge and not quite going in, and then other days they’re finding the bottom of the cup,” Scheffler said. “Today was a day definitely in which most of them were finding the bottom of the cup.”

Furyk shot his first sub-60 round in the second round of the 2013 BMW Championship at Conway Farms outside Chicago, a 59 that included a bogey on his card. Three years later, he set the PGA TOUR record at the Travelers with a 58 in the final round.

Furyk did not win either tournament.

“It was like, `It would be cool to shoot 59, but somebody has already shot 58 here, so it’s not even the course record,’” Scheffler said.

Scheffler, who won the Travelers two years ago, is coming off a tie for fourth in the U.S. Open when he played in the final round. His last victory was The American Express in the California desert, his first start of the year.

Scheffler bogeyed the par-4 second, leaving a wedge from the fairway well short and missing an 8-foot par try.