CROMWELL, Conn. — Before the first tee shots of the Travelers Championship were hit at 6:45 a.m. Thursday by Bryan Palmer, Will Gordon and Taylor Pendrith, we knew there would be plenty of low scores shot at TPC River Highlands. There always are, and with little wind forecasted, scoring conditions appeared to be prime once again for PGA Tour stars like Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and defending champion Xander Schauffele.
And score they did, Keegan Bradley set the early pace with a 62 after making birdies on the first five holes he played. In the afternoon wave, Adam Scott was 9 under with two holes to play, then hit his approach to the 17th green into the pond en route to a double-bogey. The Australian bounced back by draining a 20-foot birdie putt on 18 for 62 shortly after Scottie Scheffler completed his round of 63.
But as play neared an end Thursday, Denny McCarthy finished torching the 6,852-yard TPC River Highlands by shooting a bogey-free 60 to take sole possession of the overnight lead.
Travelers: Photos
More than 600 birdies were made Thursday, which not only helped McCarthy, Bradley, Scott and Scheffler, but also explained three 64s, eight 65s and 12 66s.
So what are we supposed to make of this birdie barrage? Here are five takeaways from the opening round of the 2023 Travelers Championship.