CROMWELL, Conn. — The U.S. Open, played last week at Los Angeles Country Club, embraces its reputation as the hardest golf tournament in the world. It’s a mental meat grinder designed to expose any weakness in a player’s game and make even the steeliest of hardened competitors nervous.
If the U.S. Open is the Ice Bucket Challenge, this week’s PGA Tour event, the Travelers Championship, is a jacuzzi. It coddles players with a charter flight from Los Angeles to nearby Hartford, Connecticut, a coffee house and ice cream bar on the range and a course, TPC River Highlands, that annually surrenders low scores. Jim Furyk shot the PGA Tour’s only 58 here back in 2016.
On a cloudy Thursday morning, New England’s favorite golfer, Keegan Bradley from Woodstock, Vermont, made birdies on his first five holes, matching the total number of birdies he carded in two rounds last week at the U.S. Open before he missed the cut. After making the turn in 29, then making birdies at the second and third holes (his 11th and 12th) to reach 8 under, Bradley, 37, momentarily thought about shooting 59, maybe even a 58 like Furyk. A bogey on the fifth hole dashed those hopes, but his 62 was the best score of the morning wave and put a smile on his face.
“I hit just perfect shots on every shot I had on those first five holes,” Bradley said. “This is a special week. I don’t get to have my family out here a lot anymore with school, and having them out here is an advantage for me.”
Interestingly, Bradley credited missing the cut at the U.S. Open with helping him play better at the Travelers Championship.
“I just played so awful last week. I was able to get out of there, I got here early and flew my coach, Darren Mahan, out here,” he said. “We got some great work in Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. It really helped. It was better for me to miss the cut, honestly, and get here and feel better about my swing. It helped a lot.”
Dad taking a break during work
@Keegan_Bradley | @TravelersChamp pic.twitter.com/Z24J1ej8qD
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 22, 2023
Before Thursday’s 62, Bradley’s lowest round of the season had been a 64, which he shot in the third round of the RBC Heritage, the week after the Masters.
Bradley credited work with this coach and his family’s support in shooting his scintillating round, but once again, TPC River Highlands, at just 6,852 yards, with a par of 70, was ripe for the taking.
Shane Lowry and Chez Reavie shot 64s, while Patrick Cantlay, who shot a 60 here as an amateur, and 2014 Travelers Championship winner Kevin Streelman, were among the players who shot 65 Thursday.
“I think this golf course will give you a lot of opportunities if you hit the ball in the fairway, especially if you hit as many drivers as I do around here,” said Patrick Cantlay, who shot 60 here as an amateur in 2011 and carded an opening-round 65 Thursday.
Last year, Xander Schauffele opened this tournament by shooting 63 in the first and second rounds, then had to hang on to win Sunday, so Bradley’s work is far from over in Connecticut. But first, mini golf is calling.
“My boy played already this morning,” Bradley said with a smile after signing his card. The tournament has a course set up for fans and kids to play when they are not watching the action. “He wants to go this afternoon. Any time I get to hang out with my boys, and this week in particular with my entire family, is really special.”