Rory McIlroy made his maiden ace on the TOUR on a day of low scores at the Travellers Championship, while Denny McCarthy came within a few shots of shooting a 59 on Thursday before settling for a 10-under 60, the lowest round of his PGA TOUR career.
On a course where Jim Furyk set the PGA TOUR record with a 58 in 2016, but failed late, Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott also made attempts at golf’s magic number. Each player shot a 62.
The top player in the world, Scottie Scheffler, finished with a 7-under 63.
McCarthy, 30, started on the back nine and made five birdies on his first six holes before putting five more in.
The crowd gasped as the Maryland native’s 169-yard approach ball skimmed just left of the cup, setting him his final eagle on the 403-yard ninth hole. He made a 5-foot birdie putt.
“This morning, as soon as I woke up, I felt upbeat. So today, everything kind of came together. It was undoubtedly a wonderful day. McCarthy, who has no wins on the TOUR despite a number of near calls, including this year’s Memorial Tournament, stated.
When Adam Scott’s second shot at hole 17 found the lake, he was 9 under par. He missed a 20-foot birdie attempt on hole 18 and finished with a double bogey.
“It’s unfortunate, but a 62 makes it difficult to be dissatisfied.” the 42-year-old Australian said.
Three players—Shane Lowry, Eric Cole, and 2019 champion Chez Reavie—each shot 64 without making a bogey.
On a day when the anticipated rain and wind held off and the sun emerged in the late afternoon, eight players shot 65, and 91 players broke par.
Bradley started the day off right by making birdies on his first five holes. The 17th hole’s 75-foot downhill putt, which kept gathering speed but hit the flagstick and dropped, was one of them.
Low scores are common at the TPC River Highlands. In addition to Furyk’s 58, amateur golfers Patrick Cantlay and Mackenzie Hughes both shot 60 in 2011 and 2020, respectively. Hughes shot 76 on Thursday and withdrew due to illness.
Bradley, a 37-year-old native of Vermonter, claimed he was compelled to consider breaking Furyk’s record.
“I don’t know, it crossed my mind when I made that extremely long putt on 17, which may have ended out in the water. I didn’t give it much thought, but I was going to give it a shot,” he said.
McIlroy’s tee shot on the 214-yard eighth hole, which landed just below the hole and slid into the cup, was the best shot of the day. McIlroy, who placed second at the U.S. Open last week, shot a final score of 2-under 68.
This was McIlroy’s second competitive ace. On the DP World Tour in 2015, he produced one in Abu Dhabi.
“I hit my greatest shot of the day with that one. Of course, the fact that it fell into the hole was a bonus, but it was still incredibly cool,” he said.
Wyndham Clark shot 68 after just winning the U.S. Open.
The 29-year-old native of Denver, who claimed victory at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, last month, admitted that he became emotional when being named as the U.S. Open champion on the first tee.
“It a little bit caught me off guard. In fact, I felt a little uneasy. But due to anxiety, I then made a fantastic shot that traveled further than I believe I would have.” he said.
The Travellers Championship’s purse increased from $8.3 to $20 million this year, elevating it to a PGA TOUR tournament.
