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Can Scottie Scheffler win staggering 6th victory at the Travelers can,scottie,scheffler,win,staggering,th,victory,at,the,travelers,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-opinions,golf-news,liv-golf

On: June 23, 2024 By: admin

Welcome to Playing Through’s new morning ritual: Golf Talk Today.

Each morning will feature a Golf Talk Today, in which the crew will discuss various elements of the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and other professional golf tournaments.

The final round of the Travelers Championship is here, and to no one’s surprise, Scottie Scheffler is in contention. His best friend, Tom Kim, continues to hold the lead by one stroke, but will he be able to hold off the two-time Masters winner?

Sunday will look different. The PGA Tour moved up tee times for the final round and put the guys into threesomes. With bad weather lurking in the afternoon, the leaders will tee off at 11:15 a.m. ET.

Kim, Scheffler and Akshay Bhatia are in the last group of the day. Let’s discuss Championship Sunday.

Travelers Championship’s final round will be wild:

Saturday saw Cameron Young shoot a historical 59, but his play quickly got overshadowed by Scheffler, Kim, and Bhatia’s play.

He finished tied with Kim at 13-under, but by the end of Saturday’s round, he trailed by five shots.

The afternoon wave fought another weather delay, but that did not matter as the conditions were so soft.

While Kim played well the first three days, Scheffler and Bhatia also did well. They all shot 65 or better in the first three rounds.

Determining a winner on Sunday will likely come down to who can limit mistakes and sign for the most birdies.

Scheffler already has five victories in 2024. He won three Signature Events, the most recent being The Memorial, the 2024 Masters, and The Players.

Can he earn his fourth Signature Event win? Scheffler is so hard to beat right now, so it will be interesting to see if two young bucks like Kim and Bhatia can keep up.

Not to mention, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Sungjae Im and Tony Finau lurk in the groups ahead.

Scheffler did not play well at the U.S. Open, but his game returned to normal on Thursday. Regardless, Championship Sunday will be wild for the Travelers as records could get broken.

ICYMI: Top stories from across professional golf

Proud Dad Moment: Brooks Koepka’s son gives Bryson DeChambeau an incredible slight

LIV Golf pro calls out South Africa Olympic team, PGA Tour players should step aside

Wyndham Clark’s unexpected hot take on the Olympics will make Ryder Cup fans shake their heads

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Nelly Korda among big LPGA names to stumble, miss cut

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.

Cameron Young channels inner Jim Furyk with astonishing 59 at Travelers cameron,young,channels,inner,jim,furyk,with,astonishing,at,travelers,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 22, 2024 By: admin

Cameron Young took advantage of the soft conditions at TPC River Highlands for round 3 of the Travelers Championship. He fired off an 11-under 59 to tie Tom Kim for the lead at 13-under total.

Young became the first player since Scottie Scheffler in 2020 at TPC Boston to shoot a sub-60 round on the PGA Tour. He also became the 12th different player on Tour to shoot sub-60. Jim Furyk did it twice, including his historic 58 at the 2016 Travelers Championship.

The 27-year-old’s previous best score was a 62 from the second round of the 2022 Genesis Invitational.

Young made over 115 feet of putts in the third round, including a 9-foot 7-inch par putt on 18 to secure the 59.

He took Moving Day seriously as Young jumped 42 spots to sit atop the leaderboard.

Young was 5-under through his first four holes after he made three birdies and an eagle on the par-4 3rd. Two more birdies at the 8th and 9th saw him go out in 28 strokes.

Another birdie at the par-5 13th, followed by his second eagle of the day at 15, put him at 10-under. He just needed one birdie to record a sub-60 round with three holes left. That birdie came on the par-4 17th as Young sank a 5-footer to tally his seventh birdie.

However, that par on 18 was his most crucial shot. It was not an easy putt, and Young had ice in his veins as he made it without hesitation.

Young has one runner-up finish this year, four top-10s, and five top-25s. However, he has not had his best form since the Masters.

Something clicked in Connecticut, though, as he joined an elite club of sub-60 golfers.

Wyndham Clark’s unexpected hot take on the Olympics over the Ryder Cup wyndham,clark,s,unexpected,hot,take,on,the,olympics,over,the,ryder,cup,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,olympics,ryder-cup-golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 22, 2024 By: admin

Wyndham Clark likes to give his opinion, even if the majority does not like it.

Last year, he attempted to call out Rory McIlroy and Team Europe before the Ryder Cup in Rome. He also missed the cut at The Masters earlier this year after calling out LIV Golf for its 54-hole tournaments.

However, his comment about the Olympics may be the hottest take ever.

Clark is one of the four Americans who will represent the United States in the Olympic golf tournament. He joins Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.

“The Ryder Cup in golf is kind of the biggest thing, but now that golf’s in the Olympics, it’s probably even bigger than that because you’re representing your country at such a bigger level,” Clark said.

“Hopefully, all four of us can try to snag some podium spots and give medals to the U.S. to win that total medal count. But, yeah, it’s pretty awesome. This probably ranks as the coolest team I’ve ever made, for sure.”

The 2023 U.S. Open winner is entitled to his opinion. However, to call the Olympics a bigger country representation than the Ryder Cup as a professional golfer is quite interesting.

Clark made his Ryder Cup debut last September. Team Europe embarrassed Team USA in Rome. He scored 1.5 points for the Americans at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.

“It is a nice weight lifted off my shoulders knowing that I made the team versus feeling like if I was trying to hold on,” he said. “So now that I made it, it doesn’t matter if you’re the No.1 guy or the fourth guy, as long as you make the team. So, it’s pretty awesome that I finally made it.”

Becoming an Olympian is quite an honor, so it makes sense for him to be this excited. Clark could also just be enthusiastic about wearing those patriotic J. Lindeberg outfits.

It is still odd to see a professional golfer rank any team over the Ryder Cup because it is one of the only times a golfer can play for his country alongside teammates.

Maybe Clark is just different, and becoming an Olympian is that special to him.

Is the Olympics a bigger deal than the Ryder Cup? Let us know in the comments.

Travelers Championship Rd. 3 tee times, LIV Golf Nashville party travelers,championship,rd,tee,times,liv,golf,nashville,party,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-opinions,golf-news,liv-golf

On: June 22, 2024 By: admin

Welcome to Playing Through’s new morning ritual: Golf Talk Today.

Each morning will feature a Golf Talk Today, in which the crew will discuss various elements of the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and other professional golf tournaments.

It is Saturday at the Travelers Championship, the final PGA Tour Signature Event, and LIV Golf begins its second round in Music City.

Tom Kim leads by two shots over Collin Morikawa, Akshay Bhatia and Scottie Scheffler. It is a birdie fest at TPC River Highlands, so expect moving day to feature a lot of birdies, much like Friday did.

Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre fired off 8-under 62s on Friday to jump up the leaderboard. The Irishman moved up 27 spots, while the Scottish player went up 35 places.

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf do not have cutlines this week. Let’s look at the round 3 tee times for the Travelers Championship and take a look at the LIV Golf leaderboard.

Travelers Championship Round 3 Tee times (ET):

*All players will go off 1st tee*

8:00 a.m. — Eric Cole, Justin Rose

8:10 a.m. — Adam Schenk, Russell Henley

8:20 a.m. — Andrew Putnam, Davis Riley

8:30 a.m. — Adam Scott, Ben Griffin

8:40 a.m. — Jason Day, Max Homa

8:50 a.m. — Chris Kirk, Nick Taylor

9:00 a.m. — Jake Knapp, Peter Malnati

9:10 a.m. — Emiliano Grillo, Chris Gotterup

9:25 a.m. — Billy Horschel, Sepp Straka

9:35 a.m. — Nick Dunlap, Matt Fitzpatrick

9:45 a.m. — Cameron Young, Jordan Spieth

9:55 a.m. — Harris English, Taylor Moore

10:05 a.m. — Stephan Jaeger, Victor Perez

10:15 a.m. — Adam Hadwin, Viktor Hovland

10:25 a.m. — Mackenzie Hughes, J.T. Poston

10:35 a.m. — Lee Hodges, Seamus Power

10:50 a.m. — Lucas Glover, Thomas Detry

11:00 a.m. — Austin Eckroat, Corey Conners

11:10 a.m. — Sahith Theegala, Keegan Bradley

11:20 a.m. — Michael Thorbjornsen, Brian Harman

11:30 a.m. — Matthieu Pavon, Ludvig Åberg

11:40 a.m. — Si Woo Kim, Cam Davis

11:50 a.m. — Webb Simpson, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

12:05 p.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Will Zalatoris

12:15 p.m. — Sam Burns, Adam Svensson

12:25 p.m. — Kurt Kitayama, Wyndham Clark

12:35 p.m. — Brendon Todd, Tommy Fleetwood

12:45 p.m. — Patrick Rodgers, Denny McCarthy

12:55 p.m. — Taylor Pendrith, Rickie Fowler

1:10 p.m. — Tom Hoge, Patrick Cantlay

1:20 p.m. — Tony Finau, Robert MacIntyre

1:30 p.m. — Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas

1:40 p.m. — Xander Schauffele, Sungjae Im

1:50 p.m. — Akshay Bhatia, Scottie Scheffler

2:00 p.m. — Tom Kim, Collin Morikawa

LIV Golf Nashville Update

The Saudi-backed tour is in Nashville for the first time, and the crowds have flocked to the Grove.

Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC leads the teams after they posted a combined 14-under. The Crushers GC posted the second-best team score at 10-under.

Abraham Ancer posted a bogey-free 64 on Friday to hold a one-shot lead over Tyrrell Hatton, who signed for a 6-under 66.

U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau continues to win over the crowds, except for Brooks Koepka’s son, Crew. DeChambeau shot a 4-under 67 at The Grove and is three shots back. He is tied for fourth with three other players. His fill-in teammate, John Catlin, fired off a 5-under 68. He shot the best among the Crusher GC.

While DeChambeau may have some fatigue from last week, that did not stop him from entertaining the masses. He put on a show at the party hole, the par-3 15th, and the fans absolutely loved it.

ICYMI: Top stories from across professional golf

Tom Kim in control again; fires impressive round at Travelers to celebrate 22nd birthday

Proud Dad Moment: Brooks Koepka’s son gives Bryson DeChambeau an incredible slight

LIV Golf pro calls out South Africa Olympic team, PGA Tour players should step aside

The Bryson DeChambeau effect is in full force after incredible U.S. Open victory

Travelers Championship: PGA Tour players take advantage of conditions, make golf course look easy

Lexi Thompson delivered at KPMG Women’s PGA Championship to remain in contention

Travelers Championship: PGA Tour players make golf course look easy travelers,championship,pga,tour,players,make,golf,course,look,easy,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 22, 2024 By: admin

The eighth and final PGA Tour Signature Event is an all-out birdie fest at the Travelers Championship. In the second round, there were 297 birdies and 10 eagles made.

TPC River Highlands has ideal conditions and a field of golfers itching to go low.

This is one of the five no-cut tournaments, and some of the world’s top-ranked golfers are taking advantage of it.

The U.S. Open and Memorial Tournament challenged the best players, so seeing the shortest track on the PGA Tour schedule seems welcomed among the 70 players in the field.

There were 30 players at 67 or better, and only 13 scores over par on Friday.

Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre posted the lowest scores of the day, signing for 8-under 62.

Collin Morikawa fired off a bogey-free 7-under 63. He went out in 29 strokes with six birdies. The two-time major winner added his seventh birdie at the 16th.

“It’s been steady. I haven’t made too many errors, and when I have missed greens, I’ve been able to have stress-free pars and good looks for pars, at least,” Morikawa said. “Shots are going where I want. [I’m] putting the ball in the fairway, and that’s key out here, especially with some nasty rough. Just got to continue that for the next two.”

Tom Hoge and Justin Thomas also shot 7-under 63s. Five guys signed for 6-under 64, including Scottie Scheffler, Sungjae Im and Michael Thorbjorsen, who made his PGA Tour debut this week.

The birthday boy and leader by two shots, Tom Kim, followed his Thursday 62 with a 5-under 65.

Joining Kim with a 65 on Friday are Akshay Bhatia, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Brendon Todd, Matthieu Pavon, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Chris Gotterup. Friday’s 65 marked Schauffele’s second straight round of 65.

Cameron Young carded a 4-under 66 to sit at 2-under total. Eleven different players finished Friday’s round with a 3-under 67.

The field made 32 more birdies and three more eagles in round two of the Travelers Championship. A rain delay halted play, but the entire field finished before darkness took over. Could the course play easier now that it has gotten some moisture on it?

If scores continue, the 54-hole and 72-hole records that Keegan Bradley set last year could be in jeopardy. How low will the final score be on Sunday? Sound off in the comments below.

Travelers: Tom Kim fires another impressive round on 22nd birthday travelers,tom,kim,fires,another,impressive,round,on,nd,birthday,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

Tom Kim is in complete control of his game in Connecticut.

He fired a 5-under 65 on Friday, one day after posting an 8-under 62 at the Travelers Championship—an event that marks his eighth straight start on the PGA Tour. He now leads Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele by two.

“I think the work I’ve been doing over the past few months has just been kind of like making sure that I feel confident out in the competition, not practice rounds, right?” Kim said.

“I think this stretch is making me sharper and more ready, and I think it’s time to show it.”

Kim has confidently waltzed around TPC River Highlands, making 13 birdies to zero bogies through 36 holes. Every aspect of his game is working for him, as Kim currently leads the field in total strokes gained.

Yet, despite Kim shooting the lowest round of the season on Thursday, he still spent 30 minutes on the range afterward.

“I know what I need to do, like what my tendencies are, so just need to make sure after the round I’m doing the right things to keep myself sharp,” Kim explained.

“It’s my eighth week, so swing-wise, just physically, things could get off pretty quickly, so just trying to be in just a sharp form and just doing the right things to kind of keep the momentum going.”

Kim, who turned 22 on Friday, kept the pedal to the medal but was not focused on his score.

“I’m playing really well, and I know what I’m doing on the golf course, so just really executing my game plan, that’s just how I’m doing it, and the score is the score,” Kim added.

“I’ve been playing really, really solid, and I’ve been saying that it’s not about this week, it’s about keep building these momentum blocks for the rest of the season.”

After the Travelers Championship—the final Signature Event of the season—the Open Championship will be the focus for every professional, including Kim. Then, the FedEx Cup Playoffs take center stage after the Olympics in August.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Travelers: Will Zalatoris’ “all-day grind session” pays off travelers,will,zalatoris,all,day,grind,session,pays,off,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — Will Zalatoris looked lost at Pinehurst No. 2, which explains why he missed the cut at the U.S. Open.

But instead of dwelling on his poor play, Zalatoris flew directly from North Carolina to Connecticut to get extra practice ahead of the Travelers Championship. The move has paid off to this point, as Zalatoris shot an impressive 6-under 64 on day one—his lowest round of the season. He now trails leader Tom Kim by two.

“I got out here Saturday night, and then Sunday, I had an all-day grind session to try to figure out what was going on,” Zalatoris explained.

“I got into some bad habits, figured out what I needed to fix, and just dug it out of the dirt. It’s kind of nice to be able to do that.”

Zalatoris missed most of the 2023 season after hurting his back on the driving range at Augusta National, only minutes before the first round of the Masters began. He subsequently missed eight months, returning at the Hero World Challenge in December. The former Wake Forest Demon Deacon then had an up-and-down start to the year, but finally put his game together at the Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, tying for second and fourth, respectively.

But he only has one top-10 since then: a tie for ninth at the Masters.

“Early on this season, I would play a tournament, need to take three, four days off, and now I’m able to just keep on going,” Zalatoris said.

“So even though it’s nice and warm, that obviously helps with the back, but I think it’s just trying to find the right cadence of when I’m taking time off, and so far this stretch is the best I’ve felt.”

Now, Zalatoris can hit 300 to 400 balls daily, which helps when you need to find your swing. But he would have issues contending and improving if his back restricted him from doing that. Thankfully for him, those ailments are a thing of the past for now.

“The further I get from the surgeries that I had last year, the more comfortable I’m feeling with my back, the quicker I’m recovering, the better I’m feeling,” Zalatoris said.

“As the year goes on, even though my results haven’t shown it, I felt a lot better; I just got into some bad habits and thought it was just a nice reset after the U.S. Open. I love majors; it’s always been a career goal of mine to win one. I hated how I played, and sometimes you just have to dig it out of the dirt.”

Perhaps his grind sessions will pave the way for a victory this week at the Travelers Championship. Or maybe it will serve as a harbinger of things to come at Royal Troon.

Who knows? Regardless of what happens, seeing Zalatoris back on tour—and being able to grind his way through bad habits—is something everyone loves to see.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Travelers: Wyndham Clark battles back, contending after bad stretch travelers,wyndham,clark,battles,back,contending,after,bad,stretch,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — Before Thursday’s first round at the Travelers Championship, Wyndham Clark had not recorded a round in the 60s since the RBC Heritage concluded two months ago.

He has had a tough stretch, missing the cut at the PGA Championship and the Memorial. Then, at last week’s U.S. Open, Clark posted a final round 77, which plummeted him down the leaderboard and into a tie for 56th.

Yet Clark has been laboring in recent months, hoping to recreate the magic he had earlier in the year at Pebble Beach, when he set a new course record and won the second Signature Event of the season.

“To be honest, it’s some of the hardest I’ve worked in a long time,” Clark said.

“First, we’re really trying to work on the short game and feel like we’ve gotten that to where it’s in a great spot—same thing with the putting. Then, unfortunately, you do that, and then you lose your swing. So then I was working on my swing, and the last two weeks have been a lot of grinding on the swing. I feel like we made some good headway, and I hit it pretty well today.”

Clark posted a solid round on Thursday. He posted a 4-under 66 to put himself in contention after day one. The 2023 U.S. Open champion now sits four strokes behind Tom Kim, who shot a marvelous 8-under 62 to set the pace.

“I played great. I just didn’t make the putts on the back nine,” Clark added.

“So I felt like it was a complete round, and one blemish on this golf course is pretty good.”

His one mistake came on the par-4 17th, which has water all up the right side and in front of the green. It’s a tricky hole, and finding the fairway is imperative. But Clark pulled his tee shot left and had to settle for a bogey-five.

Despite that, Clark got off to a roaring start, making three birdies over his first five holes. He even made a par-breaker at the challenging par-3 5th, where Clark produced his best shot of the day.

“Just because I’ve been working so hard on my swing and hitting cuts, the iron shot I hit on hole 5, I hit a cut 5-iron in there to about 12 feet,” Clark said.

“That was probably the best shot for me.”

But he hit plenty of terrific shots all day, although the putter abandoned him somewhat on the back nine. Yet, he would much rather miss birdie putts than par tries, which has recently been the case. Surely, Clark would not trade his position on the leaderboard Thursday for what he had to endure since mid-April.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Travelers: Tom Kim leads, celebrates 22nd birthday in style travelers,tom,kim,leads,celebrates,nd,birthday,in,style,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — Tom Kim produced some magic on his last day as a 21-year-old.

He blistered TPC River Highlands, posting an 8-under 62 to take control of the Travelers Championship after round one. Kim leads Akshay Bhatia, Rickie Fowler, Kurt Kitayama, and Will Zalatoris by two strokes after day one.

“I hit the ball in the fairway a lot. Obviously, this course, if you start hitting the ball in the fairway, you can go at some pins and have some good opportunities,” Kim explained.

“Obviously, I putted well. When you shoot 62s or 64s, you have to putt well, and I took care of those opportunities.”

Kim made eight birdies to zero bogies, showing no blemishes in his game on day one. He ranked fourth in strokes gained putting and first in strokes gained overall.

The Seoul, South Korea native plotted his way around the course beautifully, easily picking and attacking his targets.

“I picked really good targets out there with my approach shots,” Kim added.

“When you have 8-irons in, sometimes you want to go for the pin a lot, but at the same time, you just go into this headspace where, okay, this is where I need to pick my target, I don’t feel like I need to push or anything and just sticking to that game plan.”

He played beautifully from tee to green, but the most remarkable aspect of Kim’s play Thursday is that this week marks his eighth straight event on the PGA Tour.

“I felt like my game was there, but it wasn’t really showing in tournaments. I feel like I’m playing well, but for some reason, I can’t show it off in golf tournaments,” Kim said.

“I think that’s why I’m playing a lot more than I normally ever would because if you keep getting reps in tournaments, you keep sharpening, sharpening, sharpening, and that’s what’s happening. So I’m glad to see it actually come out though.”

Kim’s eight-week stretch began at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, where he tied for 52nd despite shooting rounds in the 60s all four days.

In the six events since, his best finish came north of the border, where he tied for fourth at the RBC Canadian Open. He did not miss any cuts, but his average order of finish over the last seven weeks is 31.7—greatly exaggerated by that solid performance in Canada.

“It wasn’t like I was playing terribly; it was just a few things that didn’t go my way, and I couldn’t adapt to it and score well,” Kim added.

“It’s not like it was a bad week, but a bad round cost me that week. But at least it’s a 26th or 25th finish; it’s not like I’m finishing 50th or missing the cut. It shows me that my bad weeks are close, which gives me the confidence to go out and know that I actually am playing well and just trying to keep riding this momentum.”

Kim will celebrate his 22nd birthday riding a big wave of momentum, hoping to fend off the top players in the world, including Scottie Scheffler. Funny enough, Kim and Scheffler share the same birthday, and these two players have developed a friendly rapport and celebrate together each year.

So earlier this week, Kim and Scheffler went to Sally’s Apizza in New Haven, Connecticut, which has world-famous pies. Kim added that he would not indulge like that during a tournament, but it is his birthday, so he had to celebrate somehow.

But he also gets to celebrate his marvelous 62 as an early birthday present, which likely tastes better than Sally’s, something hard to do.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Travelers: Scottie Scheffler rebounds after frustrating U.S. Open travelers,scottie,scheffler,rebounds,after,frustrating,u,s,open,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 20, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — The World No. 1 looked like the best player on the planet again at the Travelers Championship on Thursday.

Scottie Scheffler, fresh off a surprising T-41 at the U.S. Open, carded a 5-under 65 during the first round of the final Signature Event of the season. He had control of his swing once again and holed plenty of putts, much like he did during his five wins.

“I feel like I hit it nice,” Scheffler assessed.

“Found some swings, or found some stuff in my swing at the beginning of the week, and definitely feel like I’m swinging a lot better than I did last week.”

Scheffler did not record a single under-par round at Pinehurst No. 2, a week he called “frustrating.” Thursday’s 65 in Connecticut is his first-under-par score since the third round of the Memorial Tournament when he shot a 1-under 71.

“I struggled to see the break on the greens last week. I had a hard time finding the right line,” Scheffler explained.

“I felt like I hit a lot of good putts that came off the way I wanted to, and I looked up, but they were just not even really close to going in at times. So that can always be a bit frustrating, but it’s nice to get here on some familiar surfaces and hit some good putts and see some balls go in.”

Scheffler gained two strokes on the greens on Thursday, ranking 9th in the field. Meanwhile, Scheffler lost 1.51 strokes to the field last week with his putter, which was good for 70th of 74 players who made the cut.

Of course, Scheffler switched to a mallet putter ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which he then won. Since that change, Scheffler has added four more victories, and his putting has improved immensely since the beginning of the season.

Wooooo boy what a shot from Scottie here at 13. Went on to make eagle here, and has a stretch of birdie holes upcoming.

He’s -4 now, two back. pic.twitter.com/xfLoOCRi7U

— Jack Milko (@jack_milko) June 20, 2024

Look no further than early Thursday, when the top-ranked player in the world poured in three straight birdies over his first four holes. He made a 19-footer at the par-4 2nd, a 13-footer at the 3rd, and then, at the challenging par-4 4th, Scheffler drained a birdie try from 16 feet. He also made an eagle on the par-5 13th, thanks to a spectacular approach from 256 yards out that landed eight feet away.

“I hit two really great shots in there to give myself a look,” Scheffler said of the 13th.

“Then I got a nice read off Max [Homa’s] putt and was able to knock that in.”

Scheffler added another birdie at the par-4 14th, which got him to 5-under for the day. He failed to capitalize on a good tee shot at the drivable par-4 15th, finishing with four straight pars.

The reigning Masters champion struggled to save par last week in North Carolina, but now he has no issues making par this week. That should intimidate the rest of the field, as Scheffler looks back to being the best after an off week at the U.S. Open.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.