One week after J.J. Spaun surprised by winning the U.S. Open, it appears as if the 2025 Travelers Championship may be quite cut and dried. The favorite in the field found himself atop the leaderboard at the conclusion of Round 1 as Scottie Scheffler surged across the afternoon wave at TPC River Highlands with an 8-under 62 to stand atop the final signature event of the PGA Tour season after 18 holes.
Scheffler shares pole position with Austin Eckroat, who signed for the lowest round of his PGA Tour career in the morning. Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark are two strokes off pace of the world No. 1 at 6 under, while another notable name in Jordan Spieth was forced to withdraw due to injury.
“I did a lot of good stuff,” Scheffler said. “I felt like the conditions were pretty challenging out there, especially late in the day. I was able to hole some nice putts as well.”
McIlroy and Bradley shared a morning stroll; they were able to feed off each other. While both players eased into their rounds, by the time they reached the middle of their front nines, they were well in gear. They combined for 13 birdies with McIlroy getting around the par 70 in a bogey-free fashion.
Meanwhile, Scheffler drew a date with the U.S. Open champion and jumped out of the blocks. The reigning Travelers champion rolled in a birdie on his opening hole and four more across his next eight to turn in 5 under.
Unburdened following a grueling week at Oakmont Country Club, Scheffler surged across the back nine. He carded four 3s in a five-holes stretch highlighted by an eagle on the lone par 5 on the back side. Getting to 9 under at this point, Scheffler had eyes on the second sub-60 round of his PGA Tour career as he needed two birdies in his final three holes.
He instead settled for a couple of pars and a bogey to put the finishing touches on his 62 in the opening refrain. Positioned to win his second straight signature event and his fourth tournament in his last six starts, Scheffler has seized control with 54 holes to go as he looks to successfully defend another one of his PGA Tour crowns.
“It’s a 72-hole tournament, and the conditions I felt like were tougher this afternoon, so I was just going to try and go out and post a number and try and get myself in good position for the rest of the week,” Scheffler said. “I got hot pretty early in the round and got off to a nice start, and then I really kept the momentum through basically hole 15. And then I had one mess-up there on 17, but overall, it was a pretty good day.”
The leaders
T1. Scottie Scheffler, Austin Eckroat (-8): Making Scheffler’s performance all the more impressive are the conditions in which it took place. With a pestering wind whipping around the property, players averaged even par in the later wave when Scheffler played. The 62 clipped the average by eight strokes and came one stroke shy of tying his best round of the season (CJ CUP Byron Nelson, which he won by eight shots, tying the PGA Tour scoring record).
“Overall, I hit a lot of good shots, gave myself a lot of looks,” Scheffler said. “I got off to a good start, and like I said, it was challenging out there late in the day. The wind was blowing pretty hard, and I was able to hit some really nice shots to get some good looks.”
Contenders
T3. Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Wyndham Clark (-6)
6. Cameron Young (-5)
T7. Davis Riley, Nick Taylor, Jason Day, Adam Hadwin, Max Greyserman, Viktor Hovland, Brian Harman (-4)
McIlroy rolled his momentum into Connecticut following a final-round 67 at the U.S. Open. Generally keeping his driver in front of him and maintaining distance control with his irons, the five-time major champion went around the par 70 with six birdies, and perhaps more importantly, no bogeys.
“I just want to see some good golf and see some better shots,” McIlroy said. “I think if you concentrate on that and you’re concentrating on your quality of golf and concentrating on just trying to play to the best of your ability, the result will take care of itself. There’s no point in thinking about the result right now. I’m just trying to play as good as I can and make good swings, and if I do that enough, more than likely I’ll find myself in a position to have a chance to win.”
A call to the bullpen
It only makes sense that a man sponsored by Major League Baseball was forced to make a call for a relief pitcher (in this case a relief caddie). Young’s caddie fell ill Wednesday evening, so Young’s father, who doubles as his coach, was forced to carry his bag around TPC River Highlands on Thursday.
“He caddied for me for nine holes at Bay Hill a couple years ago, 2022, I believe. But no. But he’s out there all the time, so it’s pretty easy,” Young said. “He hung in there. I think that hill on 17 was not his favorite. But he made it, and hopefully don’t need him again tomorrow.”
The old man acquitted himself nicely as the duo was able to bounce back from an opening double bogey to shoot 65. Young’s caddie should be healthy enough to go on Friday, but if not, he has both his father and mother in the bullpen willing and able to answer the call from the dugout.
“He was just feeling sick, and I don’t want what he has, and I don’t want any of my kids to have what he has,” Young said. “Figured just give him an extra day to recover. I’m sure he could have come out here if his life depended on it. But [we decided to make the change] with my dad here and just not wanting to get anybody else sick.”
Spieth withdraws
Spieth battled an upper back injury that flared during his warm up and caused him to consistently let go of the club at impact while showing signs of discomfort. He bemoaned that he was unable to finish his back swing and used a massage gun throughout the day to alleviate pain until he exited the tournament at 5 over while in the middle of his 13th hole.
It has been a heavy stretch of golf for Spieth, who has played 10 out of the last 12 weeks with a big run ahead of him as links golf season is just around the corner. The withdrawal marks Spieth’s first in 297 career starts on the PGA Tour.
“I’ve never withdrawn from an event ever anywhere at any level, so I didn’t really know what to do,” Spieth said. “It just became too much. I didn’t see it turning around until probably Saturday. These things kind of last an extra day, and no matter what I was going to do, it was just going to be — I don’t know, it’s unfortunate.
“I’ve been doing everything right, and I think it was just very random. I may have just slept wrong and then something came along. I don’t know what caused it. I’ve done the same routine. I didn’t change anything up. I took Monday pretty easy. There was no excuses. It was very random. Unfortunate, given the timing.”
2025 Travelers Championship updated odds, picks
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
- Scottie Scheffler: -150
- Rory McIlroy: 7-1
- Keegan Bradley: 16-1
- Austin Eckroat: 25-1
- Collin Morikawa: 30-1
- Patrick Cantlay: 35-1
- Cameron Young: 35-1
- Wyndham Clark: 35-1
- Viktor Hovland: 35-1
- Tommy Fleetwood: 35-1
Bradley was the pre-tournament selection, so there is nothing to complain about after his first round. The only issue is that Scheffler is back to doing to Scheffler things and has gone odds on to win this tournament. I’m not in love with the number at this stage, so let’s instead throw a dart with Justin Thomas at 50-1. The RBC Heritage winner hit only six fairways but managed a 67 in the more difficult conditions. Like Scheffler, he will experience a quick turnaround and has a chance to take advantage of a more accessible golf course Friday morning.