CROMWELL – The putter was just off for Denny McCarthy in the first round of the Travelers Championship on Thursday, but not enough to worry.
He came back out on Friday, the windy conditions on the course helping to lower his internal expectations, and shot 6-under-par 64 in the second round, leaping 31 spots up to fifth on the leaderboard.
“I didn’t really roll it that bad yesterday. It’s just such a dramatic change from last week (at Oakmont) to this week, greens being really fast and slopey last week and then not as much slope. They seemed pretty slow yesterday; they might have been prepping for the amount of wind today,” McCarthy said. “I hit a lot of putts that were good putts, burned edges, so it was a little frustrating because it felt like I could have maybe got a 3- to 5-under out of the round yesterday, and I didn’t.”
Frustrating, indeed.
Had he found more success in less imposing conditions on Thursday, when he shot 1-under, McCarthy would have some cushion at the top of the leaderboard. With eight birdies on Friday, he was one of the few who were able to have success in the face of 30 MPH wind gusts.
“I think it was kind of like a lower your expectations, just kind of go out, try and hit the shot as best you can and move on type of day,” he said. “I like those days. It’s where I don’t really have many expectations. You kind of get out of golf swing, too. You kinda start playing shots. You start countering the wind with certain shots or just playing with the wind on certain shots, not trying to be too perfect, just trying to picture a shot and hit it.”
McCarthy will spend his weekend chasing leaders Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Thomas, who matched his 6-under on Friday.
A special place for Cromwell in Cantlay’s heart
Patrick Cantlay will play the Travelers Championship every year he’s able.
The experience he had in 2011, shooting 10-under 60 in the second round, which still stands as the lowest round ever by an amateur on the PGA Tour, will have that effect.
“It’s so great to see this tournament evolve over the years,” he said Friday, in the field for his eighth straight year and 11th overall. “It’s become one of the best tournaments on Tour. I know speaking for a lot of the guys, we really look forward to coming this week. It doesn’t feel like 14 years ago that I played my first one, but it’s been real cool to see how much better the golf tournament has got each and every year.”
Cantlay finished the 2011 tournament at 11-under 269, tying for 24th. He entered this year’s Signature Event, the eighth and final of the PGA Tour season, having finished top-15 each of the last seven years, including a fourth-place finish in 2023 and fifth in 2024.
Dealing with the swirling wind during Friday’s second round, Cantlay made six birdies on the day but bogeyed No. 8 and No. 18, and found water for a double bogey on No. 13. His 2-under 68 moved him to 5-under through 36 holes.
No shootout for Taylor
Nick Taylor hasn’t had a whole lot of success in eight appearances at The Travelers.
The 37-year-old Canadian has missed the cut five times and never finished better than 42nd, where he placed after shooting 3-over 273 last year. Good news for Taylor, there is no cut with it being a PGA Tour Signature Event.
“I haven’t had a whole lot of success here for whatever reason. I think sometimes it’s a shootout here, which I don’t always prefer,” Taylor said after shooting 2-under 68, one of the better scores of the day, to get to 6-under through 36 holes. “But it was tricky today. I think the weekend is going to be a little less wind, so it’s probably going to be some low scores again. With guys at 9 (under), you’ve got to think at least – not at least, but probably around 20 is going to win.”
U.S. Open slump
JJ Spaun, coming off the week of his golf career winning the U.S. Open, couldn’t seem to settle in at any point through the first two days at The Travelers. Spaun followed a 73 in the first round with a 71 on Friday, starting his day off with a double bogey on No. 1 and finally ending it with a birdie on No. 18.
Through 36 holes, Spaun has accumulated seven birdies, seven bogeys and two doubles.
Kim withdrawals
Si Woo Kim was the second golfer to withdraw because of an injury, following Jordan Spieth’s neck and back pain on Thursday. Kim pulled out with a back injury after recording his second double bogey of the day on No. 12, which made him 8-over through 30 holes.
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