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CROMWELL, Conn. — If anyone wondered whether the Travelers Championship would immediately allow the game’s best players to revert to their birdie-making ways after last week’s grindfest at Shinnecock Hills, Thursday provided a quick answer.
Eric Cole led the way with a bogey-free, 7-under 63 to take the overnight lead, but six other players finished one shot back at 64, with another six openingwith 65. By day’s end, 15 players were 4 under par or better. The leaderboard has so many circles and 3’s on it you might think it was stolen from Sesame Street.
That’s hardly unusual at TPC River Highlands. The tournament has built its identity around low scoring and packed leaderboards, and the opening round suggested this year’s edition could be another four-day shootout. With soft conditions from recent rain, receptive greens and little wind for much of the day, players took advantage whenever opportunities presented themselves.
There was no shortage of storylines beyond the scores, either. Matt Fitzpatrick continued his torrid season, Scottie Scheffler accomplished his goal of getting near the top of the leaderboard early and Ben Griffin rode a hot putter into contention.
Here are five things that stood out from the opening round.
It seems like every year at TPC River Highlands, someone goes on a birdie feast and the 59 Watch begins, but that wasn’t the case on Thursday. The lowest score, Cole’s 63, was shot in the morning wave but no one threatened to take things really deep as the opening round wore on.
However, Thursday’s first round of the 2026 Travelers Championship set the mark for the lowest scoring first-round for the field so far this season on the PGA Touyr, and the second-lowest round overall.
The scoring average at par-70 TPC River Highlands on Thursday was 67.96, which breaks the mark held by the first round of the American Express 68.29. The only round with a lower overall scoring average this season was the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii (67.92).
Playing in the afternoon wave, Scottie Scheffler opened with a bogey-free, 6-under. It was his 15th bogey-free round of the PGA Tour season (yet another PGA Tour stat that Scheffler leads). Afterward, he explained that getting near the top of the leaderboard on Thursday is especially important at TPC River Highlands.
“When the scoring is lower it can be harder and harder to play catch up,” Scheffler said. “Sometimes here you get so far behind you can only shoot so low on some of these golf courses, so it’s important to keep pace.”
Scheffler’s point is backed up by history. The Travelers Championship routinely produces winning scores in the high teens or low 20s under par, leaving little margin for error. His opening 64 put him in a tie for second, just one shot behind Eric Cole and in position to attack the tournament rather than spend the weekend chasing it.
Matt Fitzpatrick’s opening-round 64 was his latest reminder that momentum can be a powerful thing on the PGA Tour.
“I definitely think so,” Fitzpatrick said when asked whether playing well breeds more good play. “Scottie Scheffler’s an unbelievable player, but even on his bad weeks he’s playing well… I feel like I’ve had that this year with my irons and that’s allowed me to score better than I have done previous seasons.”
Fitzpatrick has already won three events this season — the Valspar Championship, RBC Heritage and the Zurich Clasasic with his brother, Alex — and finished runner-up two weeks ago at the RBC Canadian Open. Thursday’s 6-under, fueled by good play off the tee with his new driver, suggested that confidence has followed him to TPC River Highlands, where he believes strong approach play is the key to taking advantage of one of the PGA Tour’s best birdie opportunities.
Ben Griffin has quietly become one of the PGA Tour’s more steady players, and after opening with a bogey-free 64 Thursday, he credited something that doesn’t show up in Strokes Gained statistics. Familiarity.
“I’ve learned a lot from experience. I really didn’t play a lot of holes leading into this event,” Griffin said. “If just played the pro-am yesterday. I hit a couple of balls on the range Tuesday. Really didn’t try to overwork coming off a major last week.”
Having played TPC River Highlands four straight years, he already knew what to expect.
“I feel like this is a course that I have some familiarity with and that kind of makes it easier for me”
What also made it easier for the three-time PGA Tour winner was his putter was scaldingly hot. For the day, Griffin had a Strokes Gained: Putting of 5.31 and made over 163 feet of putts en route to his 64.
Fresh off his U.S. Open victory, Wyndham Clark opened the Travelers Championship with a 2-under 68, but he walked away believing one swing was the only thing standing between him and the leaders.
“I played really good. I mean, just really solid,” Clark said. “I had one bad swing, made a triple, other than that we would be at 5-under and in a great spot.”
Clark’s scorecard backed up that assessment. He played the other 17 holes in 5 under par, with the only blemish coming at the par-4 12th, where a tee shot that found trouble led to a triple bogey 7.
And in a change from last week, Clark felt the love from the fans.
”They were great,” he said after signing his card. “They were finally rooting for me instead of against me, so we like the Connecticut fans.”
David Dusek is a senior writer at Golfweek covering equipment.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 5 things we learned at the 2026 Travelers Championship in first round
Continue reading...
Eric Cole led the way with a bogey-free, 7-under 63 to take the overnight lead, but six other players finished one shot back at 64, with another six openingwith 65. By day’s end, 15 players were 4 under par or better. The leaderboard has so many circles and 3’s on it you might think it was stolen from Sesame Street.
That’s hardly unusual at TPC River Highlands. The tournament has built its identity around low scoring and packed leaderboards, and the opening round suggested this year’s edition could be another four-day shootout. With soft conditions from recent rain, receptive greens and little wind for much of the day, players took advantage whenever opportunities presented themselves.
There was no shortage of storylines beyond the scores, either. Matt Fitzpatrick continued his torrid season, Scottie Scheffler accomplished his goal of getting near the top of the leaderboard early and Ben Griffin rode a hot putter into contention.
Here are five things that stood out from the opening round.
No ’59 Watch’ but record low scores at TPC River Highlands
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It seems like every year at TPC River Highlands, someone goes on a birdie feast and the 59 Watch begins, but that wasn’t the case on Thursday. The lowest score, Cole’s 63, was shot in the morning wave but no one threatened to take things really deep as the opening round wore on.
However, Thursday’s first round of the 2026 Travelers Championship set the mark for the lowest scoring first-round for the field so far this season on the PGA Touyr, and the second-lowest round overall.
The scoring average at par-70 TPC River Highlands on Thursday was 67.96, which breaks the mark held by the first round of the American Express 68.29. The only round with a lower overall scoring average this season was the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii (67.92).
Scottie Scheffler knows Thursday matters
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Playing in the afternoon wave, Scottie Scheffler opened with a bogey-free, 6-under. It was his 15th bogey-free round of the PGA Tour season (yet another PGA Tour stat that Scheffler leads). Afterward, he explained that getting near the top of the leaderboard on Thursday is especially important at TPC River Highlands.
“When the scoring is lower it can be harder and harder to play catch up,” Scheffler said. “Sometimes here you get so far behind you can only shoot so low on some of these golf courses, so it’s important to keep pace.”
Scheffler’s point is backed up by history. The Travelers Championship routinely produces winning scores in the high teens or low 20s under par, leaving little margin for error. His opening 64 put him in a tie for second, just one shot behind Eric Cole and in position to attack the tournament rather than spend the weekend chasing it.
Confidence is fueling Matt Fitzpatrick’s season
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Matt Fitzpatrick’s opening-round 64 was his latest reminder that momentum can be a powerful thing on the PGA Tour.
“I definitely think so,” Fitzpatrick said when asked whether playing well breeds more good play. “Scottie Scheffler’s an unbelievable player, but even on his bad weeks he’s playing well… I feel like I’ve had that this year with my irons and that’s allowed me to score better than I have done previous seasons.”
Fitzpatrick has already won three events this season — the Valspar Championship, RBC Heritage and the Zurich Clasasic with his brother, Alex — and finished runner-up two weeks ago at the RBC Canadian Open. Thursday’s 6-under, fueled by good play off the tee with his new driver, suggested that confidence has followed him to TPC River Highlands, where he believes strong approach play is the key to taking advantage of one of the PGA Tour’s best birdie opportunities.
Ben Griffin relies on course knowledge
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Ben Griffin has quietly become one of the PGA Tour’s more steady players, and after opening with a bogey-free 64 Thursday, he credited something that doesn’t show up in Strokes Gained statistics. Familiarity.
“I’ve learned a lot from experience. I really didn’t play a lot of holes leading into this event,” Griffin said. “If just played the pro-am yesterday. I hit a couple of balls on the range Tuesday. Really didn’t try to overwork coming off a major last week.”
Having played TPC River Highlands four straight years, he already knew what to expect.
“I feel like this is a course that I have some familiarity with and that kind of makes it easier for me”
What also made it easier for the three-time PGA Tour winner was his putter was scaldingly hot. For the day, Griffin had a Strokes Gained: Putting of 5.31 and made over 163 feet of putts en route to his 64.
One swing changed Wyndham Clark's day
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Fresh off his U.S. Open victory, Wyndham Clark opened the Travelers Championship with a 2-under 68, but he walked away believing one swing was the only thing standing between him and the leaders.
“I played really good. I mean, just really solid,” Clark said. “I had one bad swing, made a triple, other than that we would be at 5-under and in a great spot.”
Clark’s scorecard backed up that assessment. He played the other 17 holes in 5 under par, with the only blemish coming at the par-4 12th, where a tee shot that found trouble led to a triple bogey 7.
And in a change from last week, Clark felt the love from the fans.
”They were great,” he said after signing his card. “They were finally rooting for me instead of against me, so we like the Connecticut fans.”
David Dusek is a senior writer at Golfweek covering equipment.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 5 things we learned at the 2026 Travelers Championship in first round
Continue reading...
