The scores are so good in the Travelers Championship that South Korea’s Tom Kim knows his lead might not be safe.
Kim shot 5-under par 65 to maintain the lead in a tight competition Saturday despite Cameron Young’s 59 in Saturday’s third round at Cromwell, Conn.
Kim is at 18-under 192 going to Sunday’s final round, holding a one-shot advantage on world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Akshay Bhatia. Scheffler finished the third round with four straight birdies, including a tap-in at No. 18. Bhatia birdied his last two holes to match Scheffler’s 64.
“Try to do the things that I’ve been doing and if it’s good enough, it’s great,” Kim said of Sunday’s plan. “But if someone’s better than that, I can’t do anything about it.”
Bhatia and Scheffler were in the same pairing Saturday and they seemed to thrive off each other’s strong rounds.
“Especially at the end, we were feeding off each other what I would say in the right way,” Scheffler said. “It’s always a good thing.”
Kim has been a steady front runner. His only bogey so far in the tournament came on the fourth hole Saturday when he needed three putts.
Xander Schauffele, who strung together three consecutive birdies on the backside in a round that was without a bogey until the final hole, shot 64 to join South Korea’s Sungjae Im (63) at 16 under.
Collin Morikawa, who played in the final pairing with Kim, had 66 and is alone in sixth place at 15 under.
Young, who finished in early afternoon well before a long weather delay, recorded the 13th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history with an 11-under-par 59.
“I can’t say I was expecting it,” Young said.
There was an array of golfers firing at TPC River Highlands greens with a chance to contend, some coming off a strong show a week earlier in the U.S. Open.
Play was suspended because of weather for 2 hours, 50 minutes, in the afternoon. That left numerous golfers with more than 10 holes to play once golfers returned to the course.
With the potential for more dicey weather, the PGA Tour announced that groups will go off in threesomes for the final round, with the leaders beginning at 11:15 a.m. with an anticipated finish time of about 4 p.m.
Tony Finau, who tied for third place last week, posted 64 to join Justin Thomas (65) and Northern Ireland’s Shane Lowry (65) in a tie for seventh place at 14 under.
With the first round of 59 on the tour since 2020, Young vaulted from tied for 24th into a share of the lead at 13 under, though the second-round leaders had barely begun their third rounds by the time Young finished.
By the end of the day, Young was sharing 10th place, but he certainly had a memorable experience.
“Did exactly what I do every day, come to the golf course, get a coffee, ate,” Young said. “… Went out there and warmed up, didn’t feel particularly awesome. I chunked a few less on the range than I did (Friday) and then came out and was very comfortable.”
He needed 24 putts, hitting 15 of 18 greens in regulation. He had two eagles and seven birdies without a bogey.
Young, who played collegiately for Wake Forest, began the round with birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie on his way to a 7-under 28 on the front nine. The eagle came when he holed his second shot from 142 yards out on the par-4 third hole.
Young also had an eagle on the par-4 15th, where he used a 3-iron off the tee to drive the green to set up a 4-foot eagle putt. After a birdie on No. 17, Young’s tee shot on the final hole went in the rough, and he ultimately needed a 10-foot putt for par.
“All of a sudden, I had a putt for 59 on 18 which was a blast,” he said.
Young ended one shot away from Jim Furyk’s course-record 58 set in the 2016 tournament.
Also at 13 under is Patrick Cantlay (64 on Saturday), who tied for third place last week.
France’s Matthieu Pavon and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who were among U.S. Open contenders, both shot 62s Saturday to move to 12 under. Aberg had a bogey-free round, while Pavon had two bogeys but registered eagles on Nos. 13 and 15 as part of a backside 29.
Canada’s Adam Svensson, who strung together four consecutive birdies, was 7 under for the day through 13 holes and ended up on that mark with 63 to sit at 12 under going to the final round. He’s joined by Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (66), who won the Canadian Open earlier this month, and Tom Hoge (66).
–Field Level Media
