Round 1: Travelers Championship
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| Travelers Championship | ||
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DUSTIN JOHNSON WITHDRAWS (7:45 p.m.) -- Dustin Johnson has withdrawn from the Travelers Championship with a wrist injury. Johnson shot an opening-round 68 before pulling out Thursday night.
Johnson, 13th in the FedExCup standings, has three top-10s this year, including a win at the rain-shortened AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and a tie for fourth at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
This was only Johnson's second Travelers Championship. Last year, he finished in a tie for 34th. -- Brian Wacker
AZINGER DISQUALIFIED (7:20 p.m.) -- Paul Azinger was disqualified earlier today from the Travelers Championship for using a non-conforming Callaway golf ball. It was a weird -- and accidental -- situation in which Azinger had used a ball that was added to the USGA's list of non-conforming golf balls on June 3.
Azinger had played the ball, however, in Tampa earlier this season -- when it was conforming -- and still had some of them in his golf bag. (The conformity of it has to do with a labeling issue.)
Azinger, who shot a two-under 68, called for rules official Mark Russell after his round, realizing he may be using a non-conforming ball. Russell subsequently informed him that the ball was indeed non-conforming and therefore he was disqualified. -- Brian Wacker
BOO FINISHES WITH 64 (6:25 p.m.) -- Boo Weekley started his day with six birdies in a row, but his run at the course record slowed down in a hurry on his final nine holes.
Weekley teed off on the back nine and made the turn in 30 despite a bogey on the 18th hole, but he got to 7 under after back-to-back birdies on Nos. 1 and 2. Weekley then played the final seven holes in 1 over to finish with a 64.
Still, it was his lowest round of the season, besting the 66 he shot in the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii, where he scored his only top 10 of the season.
Here's a look at Weekley's scorecard:
PERRY TIES COURSE RECORD (5:50 p.m.) -- Kenny Perry parred the 18th hole to become the fifth player to shoot 61 at TPC River Highlands. Perry finished with nine birdies, no bogeys, 25 putts, 10 fairways hit and 14 greens in regulation:
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| Kenny Perry nearly became the first player to shoot 60 at the Travelers Championship: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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THINKING OF KEN GREEN (5:35 p.m.) -- Starting at this week's Travelers Championship (on the PGA TOUR) and Dick's Sporting Goods Open (on the Champions Tour), the pros participating in each tournament will have a chance to wear a green ribbon in support of Ken Green, the Champions Tour player who had his lower right leg amputated after he was involved in a car accident that killed his girlfriend and brother.
The timing for the Travelers Championship in Hartford, Conn., is especially appropriate, given that Green is from nearby Danbury, Conn.
Additionally, players will have the option at registration of completing a form where they can pledge a contribution to a Trust the TOUR has established to assist Green.
Green, a five-time winner on the PGA TOUR, had his lower right leg amputated June 15 as a result of an RV accident June 8 near Hickory, Miss., when the vehicle blew a tire, went down an embankment and hit a large tree.
The accident took the life of Ken's brother and girlfriend. Green now faces another operation for a fractured suborbital bone near his left eye. Despite the loss of his leg, he has set a goal to return to competition.
• To learn more about how you can make a contribution to the Ken Green Trust, click here.
PERRY NEEDS BIRDIE FOR COURSE RECORD (5:31 p.m.) -- Kenny Perry's run at 59 appears over after he two-putted from 25 feet for par on the 17th. The par keeps Perry at 9 under heading into the 18th hole. A birdie there would give him a 60, which would set a new course record and would also be a career best for Perry, who shot a 61 at Colonial in 2003.
MAJOR MONTH (5:26 p.m.) -- Lucas Glover has had a very busy week. He won the U.S. Open on Monday and was whisked around New York City for a tour of national media outlets the following day before coming to Connecticut to play in the Travelers Championship.
Glover is playing well, too -- he's 5 under through 15 holes. So who was the last player to win a major and also win the following week? Well, that would be Tiger Woods at the 2006 PGA Championship and World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. -- Helen Ross
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PERRY MISSES SHORT BIRDIE PUTT ON NO. 16 (5:18 p.m.) -- Kenny Perry stuffed his approach shot to only eight feet on the par-3 16th, but he ran the birdie putt a foot by the hole. He now needs to finish birdie-birdie to shoot 59.
IS 59 IN SIGHT? (5:10 p.m.) -- Kenny Perry needs to birdie two of his last three holes to become the fourth man to shoot 59 on the PGA TOUR:
| Sub-60 rounds on the PGA TOUR | ||||||||||||||||
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PERRY DRIVES THE GREEN DURING LIVE@ (4:54 p.m.) -- Kenny Perry arrived at the 15th hole at 8 under -- and hit promptly hit a driver to 20 feet on the par 4 hole.
Perry two-putted for birdie -- his ninth of the day -- to take a two-shot lead.
There were players on the green preparing to putt when Perry's ball rolled onto the green -- Joe Ogilvie playfully tapped the green in front of Perry's ball after it rolled to a stop.
Video: Watch Perry birdie the 10th hole in Round 1
PERRY GRABS THE LEAD (4:27 p.m.) -- Kenny Perry overpowered the short par-5 13th for his eighth birdie of the day. Perry hit the green on the 523-yard hole in two and two-putted to move to 8 under.
EARLY INTERVIEWS ARE IN (4:19 p.m.) -- SIRIUS XM interviews from the early leaders are available for download:
Charles Warren (listen) | Ricky Barnes (listen) | Greg Chalmers (listen)
TWITTER UPDATE (4 p.m.) -- PGATOUR.COM's Brian Wacker is on the back nine with Lucas Glover, Chad Campbell and Vijay Singh. Some of Wacker's highlights from his Twittering this afternoon:
• "Ben & Jerry's adjacent to 11th green. Tempting. So was Glover's tee shot - he stuck it, made birdie. Singh rolled in a 12-footer for birdie."
• "No sign of Mrs. U.S. Open out here. Last Glover said, she was flying back home yesterday...and took the trophy with her. All pars on No. 7."
• "Every single hole so far, fans have shouted congrats to Lucas Glover for his U.S. Open win."
• "After Glover -- or G-Lover as mentioned on Letterman -- teed off on No. 2, he got a "thanks for coming" from some fans of the U.S. Open champ."
THAT WAS EASY (3:40 p.m.) -- The rains that have blanketed the Northeast this month have defintely helped make TPC River Highlands even easier than usual. As the afternoon groups wade through the course, the field is averaging 68.434 in the first round.
Even the most difficult hole, the par-3 16th, isn't beating players up. The field averaging 3.170 on the hole.
Paul Goydos, who shot 63 this morning, says scores will increase as the week goes on.
"If we don't get any more weather, and they can firm the golf course up a little bit, I don't think you'll see the scores you have right now," Goydos said.
KENNY THREATENING COURSE RECORD (3:15 p.m.) -- Kenny Perry just made the turn in 29 after using just nine putts on the front side at TPC River Highlands. Perry chipped in for birdie on the par-4 third hole and finished the front nine with four birdies in a row before birdieing the 10th.
Perry's career low round came in 2003 at Colonial, when he shot 61 in the third round. He went on to win that event.
The run of birdies is welcome news for Perry, who doesn't have a top-20 finish on TOUR since his heartbreaking tie for second at the Masters.
• To follow Perry with Shot Tracker, click here.
MORE ON BOO'S RECENT INJURIES (3 p.m.) -- We haven't heard a whole lot about the extent of Boo Weekley's shoulder woes, but Weekley said on Wednesday that he's played in pain for years.
Weekley was forced to withdraw during the middle of THE PLAYERS Championship after his shoulder starting bothering him, but the pain was caused by something more serious than expected.
"It's a torn labrum," Weekley said. "I [also] had some bursitis, and I had some little shreds on top of my rotator cuff where it's starting to wear a little bit. And then, you know, I'm getting old."
Weekley has been under the care of famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews, who keeps his practice in Birmingham, Ala., just up the road from Weekley's home along the Florida Panhandle.
"I'm going to play until I just can't play no more, unless they run out [of cortisone]," Weekley joked.
BOO BIRDIES HIS FIRST SIX (2:41 p.m.) -- Boo Weekley hasn't played much golf since hurting his shoulder at THE PLAYERS Championship in May, but he's on fire one hour into his opening round at TPC River Highlands.
Weekley birdied his first five holes before nearly making an eagle on our first LIVE@ hole (No 15). The birdie binge gives him a great chance to beat the course record of 61, which is held by four players.
Boo's streak ended at the par-3 16th hole when he barely missed a 12-footer for birdie No. 7.
Charles Warren, who shot 63 earlier today, said that he wouldn't be surprised to see someone shoot 59 this week. The greens are soft and the weather is cooperating, and the greens are rolling at a manageable 11 on the Stimpmeter.
• To follow Weekley with Shot Tracker, click here.
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QUIGLEY WITHDRAWS, OTHER NOTES (2:35 p.m.) -- In his 27th career TOUR event, Spencer Levin turned in his best round with a 64. Levin's previous best round was a 66 at the 2009 Verizon Heritage ... Tag Ridings (64) recorded a hole-in-one on the 155 yard 11th hole in the first-round with a 9 iron. There were no hole-in-ones last year at the Travelers Championship...Lucas Glover is the first player to tee it up the week after winning the U.S. Open since 2003 when Jim Furyk won the U.S. Open and then finished T22 at the Buick Classic ... The last time a player won a PGA TOUR event the week after winning a major was Tiger Woods in 2006 (PGA Championship, World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational)...Brett Quigley (knee) withdrew prior to the first-round. -- Mark Stevens
CLEMSON GOES FOR TWO IN A ROW (2:20 p.m.) -- Charles Warren, as we noted below, nearly aced the 15th hole during our LIVE@ coverage, and the South Carolinian finished with a 63 to match Paul Goydos. The round is easily his best of the year, topping the 67 he shot in the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Warren entered the year without a full PGA TOUR exemption after finishing out of the top 125 on the money list in 2008. He said on Thursday that Lucas Glover's Cinderella-style victory in the U.S. Open may have rubbed off him.
Glover and Warren have been friends for years -- both are Clemson graduates -- and Warren was at home watching the U.S. Open after he failed to qualify for Bethpage Black. The two had dinner together Wednesday night.
"I told him, 'I don't know how you're dealing with this, but I'm going to charge you for all my cell phone minutes this week,'" Warren said. "I've gotten more texts and calls than if I won the tournament."
"It's just great. It's great and fun to watch. Great for Clemson, and great for Greenville and a lot of things. So it's pretty neat."
Here's a look at Warren's scorecard:
MORE ON GOYDOS (2 p.m.) -- Paul Goydos' 63 in Thursday's first round is the lowest score he has ever posted in the first round at a PGA TOUR event ... outside the state of Texas.
Goydos' career-low first-round 62 came in the 1999 GTE Byron Nelson Classic in Dallas. The only other time he has shot 63 in the opening 18 holes came earlier this year at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. And he also recorded a 64 at the MasterCard Colonial in Forh Worth in 1997.
In relation to par, his 7-under total is the fourth time in his career he has reached the mark in the first round. Twice he has shot 8-under -- his 62 at the Nelson in 1999 and a 64 in the 2000 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
Counting all rounds, this is just the seventh time Goydos has shot 63 or lower in his career. -- Mike McAllister
Here's a look at Goydos' scorecard:
| Lowest first rounds by Paul Goydos | ||||||||||||||||||
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POWER NOT NEEDED HERE (1:46 p.m.) -- Big hitters like Stewart Cink, Hunter Mahan and J.J. Henry have won the Travelers Championship the last three years, but shorter hitters like Paul Goydos and Brad Faxon (the 2005 champion) thrive here too.
Goydos' 63 was testament to how how unnessessary 300-yard drives are at TPC River Highlands:
| Paul Goydos in Round 1 | ||||||||
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GOYDOS' THOUGHTS ON CHRIS SMITH (1:26 p.m.) -- Paul Goydos just finished his post-round press conference after taking a share of the lead with his 63, and he spent some of it reflecting on his friend Chris Smith.
Smith, a PGA TOUR veteran with nearly 300 starts, lost his wife in a car accident last weekend. The accident, which occurred when the family's SUV hit a Greyhound bus, also gravely injured his two children.
Goydos took a leave of absence from the PGA TOUR earlier this year after the death of his ex-wife, Wendy.
"It's been a rough year in a sense on the PGA TOUR," Goydos said. "With my particular situation, you've got 200 players out here. It's really an extended family. You travel together in a sense. We're all showing up at the same places.
"I can't speak enough for my fellow competitors and how supportive they were of me for that, and they still are, through this tough patch for me and my family. But I can't tell you how Chris Smith is coping. Mine was a totally different situation.
"And our thoughts and prayers go with him. I really don't know what to say. He knows that everyone out here will do whatever they can to make sure his life is as good as we can make it."
On the Nationwide Tour, players and caddies are supporting Smith by wearing black ribbons at the Nationwide Tour Players Cup this week.
OUR TWEETER MAKES THE TURN (1:10 p.m.) -- PGATOUR.COM's Brian Wacker is Twittering this week as part of our LIVE@ coverage. Wacker is following two groups on Thursday and Friday. This morning, he followed the threesome of Anthony Kim, Brian Gay and Sergio Garcia. This afternoon, he will follow U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover, who is playing with Vijay Singh and Chad Campbell.
Some highlights from Wacker's morning with Kim, Gay and Garcia:
• "Waiting for the green to clear on the par-3 fifth, Sergio, AK and Brian Gay yucked it up. These guys clearly enjoy each other's company."
• "Sergio's struggles continue as he puts another in the water off the tee, this time at 17, prompting a fan to shout "2 nil!""
• "On drivable par 4 15th AK pulled tee shot left, but stayed out of water. Sergio didnt stay out of water. Double for Sergio. Birds 4 others."
• "Waiting on 15th tee, our LIVE@ hole, AK, Sergio and Brian Gay were all talking about Bethpage. Lots of opinions on it for sure."
• "Talked to a member of team Sergio. He is tirrred after a long week. Last event in states for a while is here, home nxt week for r&r."
• "AK is looking as fit as ever as he makes his way around TPC River Highlands. Good move to hire fitness guy Darby Rich from OU."
• To follow Wacker's commentary on the Travelers Championship with Twitter, click here.
A QUARTER-CENTURY IN CROMWELL (1 p.m.) -- With their 25th starts this week at the Travelers Championship, Brad Faxon and Mark Brooks are now tied with Mark Calcavecchia for most appearances in tournament history.
Faxon, a Rhode Island native, won this event in 2005 when he tied a TPC River Highlands course-record 61 in the final round to rally from seven strokes down to force a sudden-death playoff.
He then beat Tjaart van der Walt with a birdie on the first playoff hole. That 61 also ties for the best final-round score in tournament history. Brooks won this event in 1988 in his only top-10 finish at the Travelers. Like Faxon, Brooks also won in a sudden-death playoff, beating Dave Barr and Joey Sindelar. -- Mike McAllister
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CHALMERS EXPECTS SCORING TO BE LOW (12:50 p.m.) -- Greg Chalmers didn't think his 64 to hold up for the overnight lead, and he was right. Paul Goydos has already beaten that with a 63 that included three birdies on the last four holes.
Still, Chalmers is pleased with his 23-putt performance. Putting, he said, has held him back all season. A small adjustment on the third green Thursday jump-started his round.
"I decided I was going to putt without lifting my head up," Chalmers said. "I was just going to keep my head in place and just strike the ball. I'm kind of a little goofy like that sometimes. I'll pick up little things here and there and change my mind.
"So there was a chance I could ditch that three holes into tomorrow. I don't know. It worked for a little while, and I stuck with it. I'll be sticking with it until it doesn't work."
The Aussie thinks it will take a low score to win this week at TPC River Highlands.
"Sometimes, on this golf course you get on a roll. You can make some birdies," Chalmers said. "It's just -- it's set up nicely to score, and I think there will be some good scores this afternoon, for sure."
• To replay Chalmers' round with Shot Tracker, click here.
BRITISH OPEN SPOTS ON THE LINE (12:38 p.m. ) -- The top-two money winners in a six-event series -- THE PLAYERS Championship, Memorial Tournament, St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx, U.S. Open, Travelers Championship and AT&T National -- earn exemptions to the British Open if they are not otherwise qualified. Here are the standings through the first four events:
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THAT WAS CLOSE (12:10 p.m.) -- Charles Warren nearly became the second player in PGA TOUR history to make an ace on a par 4 when his tee shot on the 296-yard 15th rolled right past the cup. Warren started the hole tied for the lead at 6 under, and an ace would have moved him to an incredible 9 under on the day (and started the inevitable 59 watch).
Officially, Warren's ball went 307 yards, leaving him with an eagle putt from 18 feet, which he ran by the cup. He made the comebacker for birdie and the outright lead at 7 under.
The only person to ever ace a par 4 in PGA TOUR competition is Andrew Magee, who aced the 17th at TPC Scottsdale during the first round of the Phoenix Open. Magee's shot bounced onto the green caromed off the head of Tom Byrum's putter as he lined up a birdie try from 10 feet.
CHALMERS IN WITH A 64 (11:51 a.m.) -- PGA TOUR veteran Greg Chalmers is winless in his 218 starts, but the Aussie used only 23 putts in shooting a six-under 64 on Thursday morning.
Chalmers fired a 30 on the back side after birdieing six of his final eight holes. He is due for a good week -- he entered this event 136th in FedExCup points after just two top-25s in 14 events this year.
SLOW START FOR CINK (11:25 a.m.) -- Defending Travelers Championship champion Stewart Cink is our spotlight player this week, but Cink is struggling in the first round.
Cink teed off on the back nine and had made four bogeys through 14 holes. it has been an up-and-down year for Cink, who sits a decent 47th in FedExCup points standings. A chunk of his FedExCup points came in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he finished third.
As you may have heard, Cink has done an outstanding job all year updating fans through Twitter about life on the PGA TOUR. PGATOUR.COM's Mike McAlliister compiled a list of Cink's best Tweets of the 2009 season.
• To follow Cink with Shot Tracker, click here.
INSIDE OUR LIVE@ HOLES (11:05 a.m.) -- The Travelers Championship marks our fourth LIVE@ of the year (click here for more). All week, we'll feature live coverage of the 15th and 17th holes at TPC River Highlands.
The 15th hole is one of the shortest par 4s on the PGA TOUR. At only 296 yards, players can elect to go for the green, but a large water hazard will catch a hooked drive. Sergio Garcia paid that penalty on Thursday morning when he found the water and made a bogey five.
PGA.COM's T.J. Auclair talked with TPC River Highlands PGA Professional Jack Hunter earlier this week. Here's what Hunter had to say about the 15th and 17th holes:
No. 15: "Classic risk/reward hole. From as far back as you can take it, it's 296 yards. You can go for the green, but there's water left and trees right to an elevated, undulating green with a front and back shelf. Even if you feel like you're in a good position, getting up and down isn't a piece of cake."
No. 17: "Probably is sort of our signature hole. It's not as difficult as Nos. 15 and 16. It's about 420 yards. It's simple in a sense because the TOUR guys can hit 3-wood or hybrid to set up a short approach, but the approach is all over water."
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT (10:58 a.m.) -- The Travelers Championship has attracted a strong field in 2009, and part of the reason is the vastly improved facilities at TPC River Highlands.
In 2008, the course replaced its five-acre practice facility with a 22-acre one that measures 360 yards in length (The old one was 100 yards shorter). The range is one of the largest on the PGA TOUR, with 110,000 square feet of tee stations.
BACK TO BUSINESS FOR BRIAN (10:30 a.m.) -- Brian Gay missed the cut at Bethpage Black last week, but the short course at TPC River Highlands is playing right into his strengths.
At 6,841 yards, TPC River Highlands is one of the shortest courses on TOUR, and the short-hitting, sweet-putting Gay was the first one to hit 5 under on Thursday morning. Gay has won two of his last six starts and might have won more had he not battled injuries in early May.
• To follow Gay with Shot Tracker, click here.
BARNES' RUN CONTINUES (10:20 a.m.) -- After an exhausting and action-packed ride at the U.S. Open last week, Ricky Barnes could have phoned in his withdrawal from the Travelers Championship, but the 28-year-old showed up at TPC River Highlands ready to challenge for the win.
Barnes teed off at the crack of dawn Thursday and is on the same page as the leaders at 3 under. After last week's tie for second at Bethpage Black, Barnes insisted that he was on the road to better things, and it looks like he was right.
PGATOUR.COM's Brian Wacker caught up with Barnes on Wednesday in Hartford, where Barnes said he'd still be playing this week had he pulled off the improbable win at the U.S. Open.
• To follow Barnes with Shot Tracker, click here.
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