CROMWELL, Conn. \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing out yesterday in the afternoon, when the greens get firm out here and the wind starts to blow, it can get tricky pretty quickly,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cGoing 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scheffler was at 16-under 124, two shots ahead of Viktor Hovland with the afternoon starters still on the course.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, I was very focused on just my execution out there,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cWho knows what the lead is going to be after today. I\u2019ve put myself in position now this week. Go home, get some rest, and get ready for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly it was more gettable today than it was even yesterday,\u201d Hovland said.<\/p>\n
Akshay Bhatia had a 62 to match first-round leader Eric Cole<\/a> at 12 under. Cole parred the final eight holes in a 65.<\/p>\n \u201cI know how this golf course can play,\u201d Bhatia said. \u201cYou got to kind of keep making birdies and try and limit mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n Scheffler shot 59 in his rookie season in 2020 in the second round of The Northern Trust<\/a> at the TPC Boston, another rain-softened course that featured low scoring. Dustin Johnson was 11 under through 11 holes that day and had to settle for a 60.<\/p>\n \u201cSome days they\u2019re kind of hanging on the edge and not quite going in, and then other days they\u2019re finding the bottom of the cup,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cToday was a day definitely in which most of them were finding the bottom of the cup.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 Championship with a 58 in the final round.<\/p>\n Furyk did not win either tournament.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was like, `It would be cool to shoot 59, but somebody has already shot 58 here, so it\u2019s not even the course record,\u2019\u201d Scheffler said.<\/p>\n