The white and the black. The night and the day. The golfers of the PGA Tour have gone in a week from playing a rough match, with hard entries, on the edge of the rules and full of bruises, to a session of bath and massage. From the US Open to the Travelers Championship. Nothing alike. From the hell of the double bogey to the paradise of the birdie. Do they appreciate it? Without a doubt. They are almost clapping with their ears. A total of 63 of the 72 golfers participating this week come from Oakmont.
“It is welcome, especially for those who also played the Memorial. There are many guys on the field this week who are in their fourth consecutive tournament, so yes, they have been through the wringer the last few weeks and this is a welcome setup where they feel they can relax a bit and not have to try so hard for their score. Sometimes when I return to Europe or come to a tournament like this, you have to remind yourself that you can shoot at the flag. Yes, you can really aim at the flag,” says Rory McIlroy.
He is one of those with a grin from ear to ear for playing this week at TPC River Highlands, the last of the designated PGA Tour tournaments before the FedEx Cup playoffs. Perhaps that’s why all the best in the world are here (45 of the top 50 in the world ranking and the entire top 10). No one, or almost no one, wanted to miss it. It goes from fighting to make pars to thinking only about birdies. In the last two years, it has been won above twenty under par and rounds like Jim Furyk‘s 58 in 2016, the first in history, or Cameron Young‘s 59 last year have been seen. It is the first PGA Tour tournament where more than one round under 60 strokes has been recorded. “It’s always a relaxing week after the US Open. They treat us wonderfully. It’s one of the favourite tournaments of the year,” confirms Scottie Scheffler.
It is true that even on a course as accessible as the one in Cromwell, there are difficult stretches. For example, holes 4 and 5. Two pars there all four days of the week can be worth gold. Scheffler argues that the final stretch can be treacherous… and he explains. “There are opportunities out there and there are also penalties. On 15, if you hit a good shot, you have a birdie opportunity. If you go right, you’ll be in a short bunker and have a 40-yard shot, a difficult shot. On 16, if you hit a good shot, you’ll have a good birdie opportunity. If you go long, it’s a difficult downhill chip. On 17, if you hit the fairway, you have the chance to get close to the flag. If you go to the left rough, you probably can’t shoot at the green. That’s what we look for in golf courses, that good shots are rewarded and bad shots are punished. It’s that simple,” he argues. In this regard, Jordan Spieth warns that he has seen more rough than ever protecting the fairways, which means that if the wind picks up, as expected, such low scores may not be seen. The last two winners, Keegan Bradley and Scottie Scheffler, hold the lowest accumulated scores in the tournament’s history.
By the way, speaking of history. Rory McIlroy is not the first Grand Slam champion to compete in the Travelers. Gary Player did so on five occasions. His last participation was in 1984, coincidentally the first edition that this tournament was played at TPC River Highlands.
