The birds were flying all day at TPC River Highlands when the 2022 Passenger Championship started on Thursday. Leading the load, both on and off the track, was none other than world number 2 Rory McIlroy. Signing for an 8-sub 62 without a bogey, the Northern Irishman has positioned himself at the top of another classification.
Victorious just two weeks ago at the Canadian Open, a “disappointing” result among the top five at the U.S. Open has done nothing to appease the mood of the 21-time PGA Tour winner. Entering this tournament as the betting favorite, McIlroy’s price has shortened considerably from 9-1 to 9/4 at Caesars Sportsbook, as he and co-leader JT Poston have a small one-time advantage over Xander Schauffele and Martin Laird.
“Every time you start with a 62, you’re going to catch it,” said McIlroy, whose 62 matched his lowest round of the season. “I feel like the start I started was a little slow somehow. I made a bird in the two holes in the back nine that you should do, 13 and 15, and then I did a good one at 18 for turn to 3 under par.Then once I went to the front, that’s when I started to really feel it and started to drill some putts and hit some quality punches … overall a very good round of golf and a great start “.
McIlroy was not the only star to shine in the first round of the Travelers Championship. Schauffele was fantastic from the tee to the green on the way to his 63, and his good friend Patrick Cantlay was sharp in the afternoon with a 64. As they thrived, Jordan Spieth slowed down and is at 5 with a lot of work. to do just to do it. the weekend.
The leader
1. Rory McIlroy (-8): The Passenger Championship marks McIlroy’s fourth consecutive week of competition, as no break has been taken since the following week at the PGA Championship. As such, there were discussions about a possible fatigue both for the tournament and after its first 62. This is nothing new for the 33-year-old, as he plans to put all his strength behind the remaining 54 holes before taking it. a well-deserved rest time.
“I didn’t hit any golf balls on Monday and Tuesday. I went back to Florida for a day, spent the night in my own bed, went back up on Tuesday, didn’t come to the course and then [Wednesday] Playing the pro-am in the rain wasn’t really a great preparation, but I think I played well at Brookline, ”McIlroy said.“ I won’t miss it in two days. I knew my game was good. I think right now it’s just that the energy levels are okay. I feel a little bad, but right now it’s just concentration. I have three more rounds left until I have a couple of weeks off and get ready for the open championship. I will put everything in these three rounds. “
Other contenders
T2. Xander Schauffele and Martin Laird (-7)
T5. Patrick Cantlay, Webb Simpson, Charles Howell III (-6)
T8. Matthew NeSmith and Cameron Davis (-5)
T10. Harris English, Wyndham Clark, Hank Lebioda, William McGirt and Keith Mitchell (-4)
From a statistical standpoint, Schauffele was the most impressive, as he placed second in hits won on the green tee on Thursday. We get to Schauffele, but I wanted to talk about Simpson, who is slowly rounding off in some way. After scoring the round of the day in the third round of the PGA Championship, the 36-year-old finished tied for 20th place and then picked up a result in the top 30 the following week in the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Signing for a bogeyless 64, Simpson is well positioned to fight for his first PGA Tour title since the 2020 RBC Heritage. Two years after his last win and rising to fourth place in the official world golf rankings, l ‘now number 60 in the world has a fantastic chance to get back on his way to winning.
“Yeah, it was a great start … It was a fun day,” Simpson said. “No bogeys. I don’t remember the last time I had a round without a bogey, so it feels good. I tried to do bogey at the last one, but I went up and down. But you know, it wasn’t easy. The wind it was swirling. It’s getting a little bigger right now. So I feel really good, solid everywhere, I’d say. “
Xander hits the 18 greens in regulation
It was an excellent day for the five-time PGA Tour winner and current Olympic gold medalist. Getting 18 of 18 greens in regulation, Schauffele finally signed for a 63, one behind the leaders. In what may be the most shocking statistic of the PGA Tour, Schauffele has not won any full-field singles event since his first event in 2017 at the Greenbrier Classic and will look forward to changing that over the next three. days.
“I’ve done it in home workouts, but it’s a whole different thing, obviously, because the wind is very cross,” Schauffele said of hitting all the greens in regulation. “Sometimes it’s okay. I think the 9 is a good example, if you go just above the green on the right it’s not that hard to putt, so here are points where it’s okay to lose the green and be on the edge. . “
Probability of the travelers championship, elections
Here’s a look at the updated odds after 18 holes of play, via Caesars Sportsbook.
- Rory McIlroy: 9/4
- Patrick Cantlay: 5-1
- Xander Schauffele: 5-1
- Webb Simpson: 14-1
- Scottie Scheffler: 16-1
- JT Poston: 16-1
- Keith Mitchell: 22-1
- Martin Laird: 28-1
- Charles Howell III: 35-1
- Seamus Power 35-1
- Cam Davis: 40-1
The price at the top of the market is quite aggressive, but it should come as no surprise, given the value of the name. The presence of McIlroy, Cantlay, Schauffele and Scheffler can be daunting, but it offers a solid opportunity to load up on the players on the board. Harris English (-4) with 80-1 has considerable interest, as the reigning champion returned to competition a couple of weeks ago at the Memorial Tournament after undergoing hip surgery in the winter.
He lost the cut to Jack’s place, but was present over the weekend at the U.S. Open and even ranked in the top 15 in wins in the two rounds in the middle. From a winning shot perspective, the ball hit wasn’t too impressive on Thursday, but the elemental data was strong as it flattened fairways and greens in regulation. Maybe it’s still too early for English, but I’d rather get to the party early than miss the cake altogether.
Rick Gehman and Patrick McDonald summarize Thursday’s action at the Passenger Championship. Follow and listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.