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PGA TOUR

Tom Kim Holds Lead at Travelers

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CROMWELL – Tom Kim (62-65) at (-13) leads a group of players on the star-studded leaderboard by two strokes at the 2024 Travelers Championship in the suburbs of Hartford, Connecticut. The event is the last of the PGA Tour’s elevated “Signature” tournaments and pays out a purse of $20 million with $3.6m going to the winner. It is the 28th of 36 tournaments of the FedEx Cup regular season.

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Kim celebrated his 22nd birthday by posting his career low 36-hole score on the PGA TOUR (127) and holds his second 36-hole lead/colead on TOUR. He is 1-for-1 to date converting the halfway-point lead to victory (2022 Wyndham Championship).

Kim is seeking his fourth PGA TOUR win in his 63rd start (2022 Wyndham Championship, 2022 Shriners Children’s Open, 2023 Shriners Children’s Open) and owns two Asian Tour wins (2019 Panasonic Open India, 2022 Singapore International).

He finished T38 in 2023 in his one prior appearance at the Travelers Championship.

World No. 1 and FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler (T2/-11) pulled within two strokes of the lead following a 6-under (64). Scheffler has improved in each of his four prior starts at the Travelers Championship (MC/2020; T47/2021; T13/2022; T4/2023) and is in search of his sixth win of the season and fourth in a Signature Event (Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, RBC Heritage, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday). Of course, wins at The Masters and PLAYERS were his “other” two wins this year.

Collin Morikawa (T2/-11) cards 36-hole total of (129), which is second only to the 125 he posted at the 2023 TOUR Championship when he went on to finish T6 (FedExCup Starting Strokes). He is making fourth appearance at this event (T36/2019; MC/2020; MC/2023).

In his tournament debut, Akshay Bhatia (T2/-11) posted a career-best 36-hole score on the PGA TOUR (129). His previous best: (131) 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship/T20).

The Travelers | Leaderboard After 36 Holes

1 Tom Kim 62 65 127 (-13)

T2 Collin Morikawa 66 63 129 (-11)

T2 Akshay Bhatia 64 65 129 (-11)

T2 Scottie Scheffler 65 64 129 (-11)

5 Xander Schauffele 65 65 130 (-10)

Tom Kim Leads Travelers After 18

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CROMWELL – Tom Kim carded his lowest 18-hole score this season and holds his first 18-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR. Kim is celebrating his 22nd birthday today, June 21.

At his one prior appearance at the Travelers Championship last year, Kim shot rounds of 69-64-72-65 and finished T38.

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Kim is seeking his fourth PGA TOUR win in his 63rd start. Wins came at: (2022 Wyndham Championship, 2022 Shriners Children’s Open, 2023 Shriners Children’s Open). He owns two Asian Tour victories (2019 Panasonic Open India, 2022 Singapore International).

Making his tournament debut, Akshay Bhatia (T2/-6) posted his fourth round of (64) or better this season. In prior Travelers tournaments, two lefthanders have won the event in the last 25 years: Phil Mickelson (2001, 2002), Bubba Watson (2010, 2015, 2018). Both are on the LIV circuit now.

Rickie Fowler (T2/-6) carded his lowest opening round on TOUR since the 2023 U.S. Open (62). It marked his second opening round in the 60s in 17 starts this season (67/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am). In six prior appearances at this event he owns three T13 finishes (2010, 2013, 2023) and three missed cuts (2009, 2021, 2022).

Kurt Kitayama (T2/-6) seeks his second Top-10 result this season (T8/WM Phoenix Open); makes second appearance at this event (MC/2023). Kitayama leads in Stokes Gained: Around The Green (2.580).

Making his tournament debut, Will Zalatoris (T2/-6) leads the field in Strokes Gained: Tee To Green (3.905). He recorded eight birdies, including seven in a nine-hole stretch on hole Nos. 7-15.

World No. 1 and FedExCup leader Scottie Scheffler (T6/-5) hits 17 of 18 greens in regulation en route to a 5-under (65) to snap his streak of five consecutive over-par rounds. Scheffler is celebrating his 28th birthday.

The Travelers | Leaderboard After 18 Holes

1 Tom Kim 62

T2 Akshay Bhatia 64

T2 Rickie Fowler 64

T2 Kurt Kitayama 64

T2 Will Zalatoris 64

Home Sweet Home for Bradley

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CROMWELL – Back close to home, Keegan Bradley looks to defend his Travelers Championship title when he tees off this week at TPC River Highlands in the suburbs of Hartford, Connecticut.

The Woodstock, Vermont and Hopkinson, Massachusetts native carded an event-record 23-under finish to earn his sixth and most recent PGA Tour win here in 2023.

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“I have great memories of here throughout my whole entire life, so it’s fun to come back as a winner of the tournament,” said Bradley, returning to his favorite golf course.

“I can think of when I was a 12-, 13-year-old kid coming here to watch David Duval play. And then now getting to come as defending champion is pretty cool.”

Bradley has had an up-and-down 2024.

He missed the cut at three of four events across February and March, but he has posted a pair of T2 finishes, including last month’s Charles Schwab Challenge.

“It’s been a weird season,” Bradley said, adding that he has felt “really strong” over the last few months.

Bradley, though, has shot over par in each of his last two events. He followed his season-worst 9-over-par finish at the Memorial by shooting 7-over at last week’s U.S. Open.

Putting has been a struggle, Bradley said, but he feels like his short game is coming along as of late and returning to TPC River Highlands may give Bradley’s putter another boost.

“Sometimes coming to a course like this that you’ve had some success at is just what you need to maybe hopefully contend,” he said.

Asked if he had re-watched his victory from last year, Bradley said he was selective about it.

“I can watch up until about 13 or 14, and then I started whacking balls in the water and making bogeys, so we fast forwarded through that part,” he said.

Bradley said he’s proud to have the Travelers Championship represent his “home event” and relishes the nostalgia it delivers aside from last year’s win.

“This tournament really, it means a lot to me before I had won. I mean, like I say every week, this is a very important tournament to the Northeast and New England golfers,” Bradley said. “And a kid like me, this is the only chance I would get to come up here and watch professional golfers play. So this is an important week for the game of golf in this area.”

–Field Level Media

DeChambeau Earns U.S. Open Win

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PINEHURST – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Bryson DeChambeau parred the final three holes to complete a 1-over-par 71, and that was enough for a one-shot victory at the U.S. Open in North Carolina, winning the championship for the second time in five years.

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DeChambeau, who began the day with a three-shot lead, finished at 6-under 274, benefitting from Rory McIlroy’s late putting failures.

McIlroy, who gained the lead on the back side, bogeyed the last hole by missing a par putt from about 4 feet. Then DeChambeau, playing in the last group, clinched it with a par putt after blasting out of a greenside bunker on his third shot.

DeChambeau became the second former Southern Methodist University golfer to win a U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, with this title coming 25 years after Payne Stewart’s memorable championship.

McIlroy’s 69 was tainted by bogeys on three of the last four holes, and he finished as the U.S. Open runner-up for the second year in a row. McIlroy, who won the 2011 U.S. Open, was trying to secure his fifth major championship and his first since 2014.

Scheffler Dominating the TOUR

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DUBLIN, Ohio – The Memorial, presented by Workday was Scottie Scheffler’s 11th career PGA TOUR title and fifth this season. He joined four different players (on six instances) who have won the Memorial Tournament and THE PLAYERS Championship or a major championship in the same season as Scheffler now captured the 2024 Memorial, the 2024 PLAYERS Championship, and 2024 Masters Tournament. The other players to accomplish the feat are Raymond Floyd (1982), Curtis Strange (1988), Paul Azinger (1993) and Tiger Woods (1999, 2000, 2001).

Scheffler became the seventh player (16th instance) with five or more TOUR wins in a season since 1983 and first since Justin Thomas in 2016-17 (5). Scheffler has won five of his last eight starts on TOUR and has finished outside the Top 10 only once in 13 starts this season (T17/The American Express).

He became the second player since 1950 with five TOUR victories including a major, before the U.S. Open (Arnold Palmer/1960, 1962) which is this week at Pinehurst.

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The last five instances of a player winning five times in a calendar year on the PGA TOUR before June 10:

  • Scottie Scheffler, 2024
  • Tom Watson, 1980
  • Johnny Miller, 1974
  • Arnold Palmer, 1962
  • Arnold Palmer, 1960

Collin Morikawa recorded his third Top-5 finish in as many starts (T4/PGA Championship, 4th/Charles Schwab Challenge). He was seeking a fourth victory on a Jack Nicklaus-designed venue – 2019 Barracuda Championship (Montreux G&CC), 2020 Workday Charity Open (Muirfield Village), 2021 WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession.

The Memorial 2024 | Final Leaderboard

1 Scottie Scheffler 67 68 71 74 280 (-8)

2 Collin Morikawa 68 74 68 71 281 (-7)

3 Adam Hadwin 66 72 72 74 284 (-4)

4 Christiaan Bezuidenhout 72 67 74 72 285 (-3)

Final Leaderboard (link)

Morikawa Gets Second Chance at Jack’s

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DUBLIN, Ohio – (Staff and Wire Service Report – Collin Morikawa recalled that he was nearly moved to tears when he had to withdraw from the 2023 Memorial Tournament on the morning of the final round because of a back injury.

But Morikawa has returned for this year’s edition of the Memorial, which starts on Thursday at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio.

Morikawa will be trying to capture the victory that eluded him a year ago while also going for a handshake from the event’s longtime host, golf legend Jack Nicklaus, on the 18th green.

“I felt gutted last year,” said Morikawa, who was tied for ninth at 4-under par and two shots behind the leaders after three rounds when he suffered back spasms during a workout that Sunday morning.

“I hurt myself on Sunday and I felt like I had a chance,” Morikawa said Wednesday. “I went in there and I was nearly sobbing because I had to go tell (Nicklaus) that I had to withdraw. It sucks because you show up to certain events and you just, you have this thing about an event that you just love, and I love this golf course.”

Morikawa, 27, is a two-time major champion since turning pro in 2019, having won the PGA Championship in 2020 and The Open in 2021. Among his six victories on the PGA Tour is his win at the Workday Charity Open held at Muirfield Village in 2020, but that didn’t come with a handshake from Nicklaus.

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Another shot to win the Memorial came in 2021, when Morikawa lost to Patrick Cantlay in a playoff.

“Oh, it would be so special,” Morikawa said of getting a handshake from the 84-year-old Nicklaus, an 18-time major champion. “Look, what Jack has done for this game, what his voice does, what he represents, it’s a lot. You can’t replace history, you can’t replace someone like that, so to have that chance hopefully come Sunday, it would mean the world. …

PGA Tour: The Memorial

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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
Location: Dublin, Ohio, June 6-9
Course: Muirfield Village Golf Club (Par 72, 7,571 Yards)
Purse: $20M (Winner: $4M)
Defending Champion: Viktor Hovland
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 12:30-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @MemorialGolf

PROPS
–Collin Morikawa to beat Xander Schauffele (+105 at DraftKings): Schauffele claimed his first major title in his most recent start and has been a top-10 machine with nine through 11 2024 events. But Morikawa has also rediscovered elite form, posting consecutive fourths and five top-10s over his past five starts. It has been a whirlwind few weeks for Schauffele since his breakthrough major victory, while Morikawa hunts for his first win since October.

–Viktor Hovland as top Scandanavian (+140 at BetMGM): After a rough start to 2024, Hovland reconnected with his previous swing coach and immediately contended until the 72nd hole at the PGA Championship. He also won at Muirfield in a playoff last year, but does have to fend off stiff competition in this prop. Ludvig Aberg (+150) has skyrocketed to sixth in the world with five top-10s already this year, while Alex Noren (+275) has displayed strong recent form that includes six top-20s in his past nine starts.

PGA Tour: MacIntyre Win in Canada

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HAMILTON 🇨🇦  – Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre won his first PGA Tour event by shooting 2-under par 68 for a one-stroke victory in the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Ontario.

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MacIntyre, a left-hander who earned his PGA Tour card via the DP World Tour Race to Dubai rankings, finished at 16-under 264.

Ben Griffin, who was in the final pairing with MacIntyre and also vying for his first title on the tour, had a late rally with three straight birdies, but was unable to sink a putt from the fringe on the last hole. His 65 left him 15 under.

When MacIntyre made the turn, he held a four-stroke lead with six golfers sharing second place. But this tournament had been far from decided, not to mention MacIntyre’s apparent irritation because of noise stemming from a drone from CBS equipment.

Griffin, who was among a group in second place entering the round, had a strange day, with a birdie on the par-4 third hole after his tee shot settled on the seventh fairway. He recovered then, but he had all pars until birdies on Nos. 15, 16 and 17. The putt on the 16th green was from nearly 40 feet.

Third-place finisher Victor Perez of France shot a bogey-free 64, capped by a birdie putt on the final hole.

When Perez finished, MacIntyre had four holes left and only a one-stroke edge. He immediately birdied No. 15 to go up two, with Griffin joining Perez at 14 under.

South Korea’s Tom Kim and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy made charges with 64s to share fourth place at 13 under and Canada’s Corey Conners (65) was sixth at 12 under.

MacIntyre’s lead grew to five shots after a birdie on No. 11. But by the time he bogeyed the next two holes, Kim and McIlroy had wrapped up their rounds to sit just two shots back.

While Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes moved into contention by late Saturday, it was Conners who made a strong push in the final round in an effort for a Canadian to win the event for the second straight year. Nick Taylor won the event last year, but didn’t make the cut this weekend.

Conners had four straight birdies from Nos. 11-14, moved closer with a birdie on No. 17 before closing with a bogey. Hughes (70) finished in a tie for seventh at 10 under.

Kim opened the final round with three consecutive birdies and moved to 6 under for the day through 12 holes.

Griffin and Maverick McNealy (65), who tied for seventh, were the only U.S. golfers to finish inside the top 10.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: Riley Wins at Colonial

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FT. WORTH – Davis Riley accomplished a lot on his final day, five stroke cruise to victory at the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge:

  • He secured his second PGA TOUR victory in his 90th start at the age of 27 years, 5 months, 9 days.
  • He earned his first individual victory on TOUR with the other being a team match play tournament at the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Nick Hardy.
  • He earned 500 points to move to No. 55 in the FedExCup standings and entry in the two remaining Signature Events this season (Memorial Tournament presented by Workday and the Travelers Championship).
  • He moved from No. 250 to No. 78 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
  • He won $1,638,000 and a new Chevy Corvette
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Charles Schwab Challenge | Final Leaderboard

1 Davis Riley 66 64 66 70 266 (-14)

T2 Keegan Bradley 68 66 70 67 271 (-9)

T2 Scottie Scheffler 72 65 63 71 271 (-9)

4 Collin Morikawa 68 69 67 68 272 (-8)

Final Leaderboard: (link)

PGA Tour: Murray Died by Suicide

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FT. WORTH – (Wire Service Report) – PGA Tour member Grayson Murray died by suicide, his parents confirmed in a statement Sunday morning.

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The death of Murray was announced by commissioner Jay Monahan on Saturday, one day after the 30-year-old golfer cited illness following his withdrawal from the Charles Schwab Challenge at Fort Worth, Texas.

On Sunday morning, his parents, Eric and Terry, provided the following statement:

“We have spent the last 24 hours trying to come to terms with the fact that our son is gone. It’s surreal that we not only have to admit it to ourselves, but that we also have to acknowledge it to the world. It’s a nightmare.

“We have so many questions that have no answers. But one. Was Grayson loved? The answer is yes. By us, his brother Cameron, his sister Erica, all of his extended family, by his friends, by his fellow players and — it seems — by many of you who are reading this. He was loved and he will be missed.