CROMWELL, Connecticut – Phil Mickelson entered Saturday’s third round as the sole leader of the Travelers Championship. A chance for his first victory in his first event since he turned 50 11 days ago seemed like a real possibility.
After 71 less than stellar in Saturday’s third round, and with a full leaderboard with big names and red-hot players posting numbers in the low 60s, is that still a possibility?
Here’s a look at everything from Mickelson’s odds to Bryson DeChambeau’s gambling to a refresher course on Brendon Todd and more to prepare for what might be an interesting Sunday for travelers:
Does Phil still have a chance?
Saturday was not his best day at the office, that’s for sure. Maybe it was the early start. He finished his second round, a dazzling 63 that almost included a hole from the fairway at 18, after 5 p.m. ET on Friday and returned to the tee at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday morning. Okay, playing two rounds of golf 16 hours apart may not seem like the hardest thing in the world, but you’ve just turned 50. And despite his workout routine and slimmer body, well, he turned 50.
On a day when it seemed like everyone on the field was posting a number in the 1960s, Mickelson shot 1-over-71. Mickelson and Will Gordon, who were in the same trio on Saturday, were the only two players in the top 20. Do not shoot in the 60s.
So what does all this mean for Sunday? There is good news / bad way of looking at this: bad news is that he is 6 hits from Todd; The good news is that he’s tied for seventh, which means there aren’t many people to jump between him and Todd.
“I haven’t played very well this year. I have missed a lot of cuts, and the next thing I know my game is starting to come back and I can feel it,” said Mickelson. “I will go out tomorrow and do my best to go down. I know I am playing well enough to do that.”
Bet at the casino
For now, everyone knows the new Bryson DeChambeau. He grew bigger. It sways with force. Hit him away. (He hit a tee shot 428 yards in Friday’s second round. Yes, 428 yards.) Most importantly, he is playing well. He hasn’t fired a round worse than 70 since he returned from close; in fact, he has posted 65 or more five times in 11 rounds.
Isn’t that enough to give you a good look on Sunday? Well, there’s this too: She’s walking around comparing herself to a casino.
“What I have to do is imagine that I’m like the casino and keep playing,” he said after Saturday the 65th. “Just keep playing and give myself the best chance of winning here, and that’s what I’m doing.” “
It is the second day in a row that it goes with the casino reference.
“I am trying to be home,” he said. “I’m definitely trying to be home.”
However, DeChambeau was not leaving all this to chance. He was upset with how he hit his driver in the third round. On Saturday afternoon, his round was complete and when the rain fell, one person was left standing in the field hitting driver after driver. It was Bryson DeChambeau.
“I’m guiding him with the driver right now, I’m not 100% sure with him, but I’m working hard to find out what he had at Colonial and RBC,” he said.
After a lost cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge, there were signs last week at RBC Heritage that Dustin Johnson was starting to figure things out. Four consecutive rounds of 68 or more gave him just his second top 20 since January. In travelers, their game and scores constantly improved. He opened with 1 under 69, then posted 64 on Friday before a 61 of nine birdies and zero bogey on Saturday.
“I felt like he gave me really good birdie opportunities at every hole,” said Johnson, who celebrated his 36th birthday on Monday.
61 was the lowest round Johnson has posted on the Tour. On Sunday, he will seek his 21st career victory.
About this boy Brendon Todd
Maybe you don’t know much about Brendon Todd; Well, there is a possibility that you have never heard of it. Well it’s time to take it seriously because you could win for the third time this season. Yes, he has already won twice, winning consecutive weeks in November at the Mayakoba Golf Classic and Bermuda Championship. Todd, Justin Thomas, and Webb Simpson are the only players on the PGA Tour with multiple wins this year. On Sunday, after Johnson posted 61 to take the lead, Todd called.
“It really was an exciting day, so I was just trying to go down as much as I could, and if anything, use the leaderboard as motivation,” he said.
It’s a lot to ask for another 61, but given the way players have taken advantage of TPC River Highlands throughout the week, Todd is likely to have a low number on Sunday for his third win.
“I very well could [take another low-60s round to win]”Todd said.” That depends on how the four or five boys behind me play. My job will be to get out there and get off to a good start and try to make as many birdies as I can and see if I can’t shoot another good round. “
It is time to wait and see who is playing.
1:45
Michael Eaves details why Jason Day played a single round after he tested negative for the coronavirus.
As this week has shown, the field in the Travelers Championship is fluid. The coronavirus pandemic has caused seven recalls this week. On Saturday, Jason Day requested to be tested again and his start time was delayed an hour to see if he was negative and if he could stay on the field. He ended up staying in the tournament, but he played the round alone.
This will be a continuous situation for the Tour, one that will be monitored not only week by week, but day by day and hour by hour. Before the event started, Cameron Champ, Brooks Koepka, Chase Koepka, Graeme McDowell, and Webb Simpson retired. Champ tested positive. The Brooks Koepka and Graeme McDowell caddies tested positive. Chase Koepka and Simpson withdrew for precautionary reasons. On Friday, before the second round, Denny McCarthy tested positive and retired, as did Bud Cauley, who played with McCarthy in Thursday’s first round. The third member of his group, Matt Wallace, stayed on the field and played alone on Friday, but shot 72 and missed the cut.
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