Cole dominates back nine at Travelers, sets pace with 7-under 63

CROMWELL, Conn. — Eric Cole is the clubhouse leader at TPC River Highlights after shooting a 7-under 63.

Cole, still seeking his first career win on Tour, was bogey-free throughout the opening round where he carded a 30 on his back nine.

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The highlights of the back nine included an eagle on the par-5 13th and a magnificent bunker shot on 431-yard 17th that set him up for a birdie putt.

“We had really good conditions to start the day, limited wind, greens were pretty soft, so there were birdies to be made out there,” Cole told reporters. “I felt like I played solid and kept giving myself chances and a few of ’em went in, so that was nice.”

The longer hole, the better Cole seemed to be on Thursday. While he birdied two of the four par-3s, he gained fives shots on holes that were 400 yards or more.

“13’s a relatively simple hole, 14, if you hit a good tee shot it’s a wedge. 15’s drivable. 16’s not overly long,” Cole said breaking down the back nine. “And then the last two, with the wind direction, are shorter irons or wedges. I would say from 13 in is really where you can kind of score.”

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Shot at redemption?

Prior to a missed cut in Toronto, Cole was coming off a streak of three top-10 finishes in four events. He withdrew from the 2025 Travelers Championship in the third round (illness).

“It was very unfortunate and I was not happy about the whole thing,” Cole said Thursday. “But pretty much I just got a stomach bug and I have a disease called Addison’s Disease, which, when your body kind of is under stress, I don’t produce the same hormones that a healthy person would.”

He explained that he went into an adrenal crisis and spent the night in the hospital.

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“I was not in shape to come out and play, which was disappointing, because I was playing pretty well and I love this tournament and I wanted to be a part of Sunday,” Cole said. “I’m not sure if it’s redemption, but I’m happy to be here and feeling good and hopefully none that have this year.”

Receptive, not crazy

The early playing conditions were favorable for Cole after rain came through the area on both Monday and Tuesday.

“Receptive, but nothing crazy,” the 38-year-old Cole said. “All the wet areas are in the rough off the hole, so there’s some wet areas around there, but the greens are good. They’re probably a little softer than maybe the Tour or tournament would like, but I think other than maybe a little rain tonight I think we’re going to be good. So they will probably continue to get a little firmer.”

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He holds a current one-shot lead over Matt Fitzpatrick, Nico Echavarria and Ben Griffin who are T-2 after carding 66s, respectively. Echavarria carded the field’s only other 30 — also on the back nine.

Patrick Cantlay, who has a strong track record in Connecticut, is T-6 and in the clubhouse with a 5-under 65 over his first 18 holes.

“I’m not sure if it really favors any [type of player] particular — someone who is putting well, because the greens are very good and the scores are generally low,” Cole said when asked about if the lack of firmness player into his favor. “Whoever is holing the most putts. But I don’t think it just intrinsically favors a certain style of player.”

Travelers Championship 2026: Round 1 tee times, pairings and how to watch

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TPC River Highlands is the last stop on the Tour’s signature-event calendar this year. Here’s when the first round gets underway in Connecticut on Thursday and how to watch on Golf Channel.

No. 18 disappointment

Cole could have given himself an even greater cushion had his birdie putt on 18 gone in.

“Took my time with it, and it didn’t break like I thought,” he said of the attempt. “I definitely wasn’t bummed out with the round, I was just bummed that that one didn’t break like I thought it would. But it’s a long tournament and stuff like that happens, so it’s all good.”

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He was asked about feeling an urgency to win this week.

“Obviously it’s everybody’s goal … winning is something I want to do,” Cole said. “I just am trying to get myself in that spot where have I more opportunities and then hopefully just the more I do that, the more likely it is that I’ll win.”

Travelers Championship 2026: Round 2 tee times, pairings and how to watch

PGA Tour action continues outside of Hartford on Friday. Here’s how to watch the second round of the Travelers Championship on Golf Channel.