Canadian Fires Best Opening Round Ever At Travelers Championship

CROMWELL, CT — The opening round of the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship was historic, in that no spectators are permitted due to restrictions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. History was also made by a little-known player from Canada, who fired the best opening round in the 69-year history of the PGA Tour's annual stop in Connecticut.

Mackenzie Hughes, a 29-year-old whose lone victory on the PGA Tour came at the 2016 RSM Classic, started on the back nine at 8:25 a.m. and quickly got into red numbers with a birdie from the fringe on the par-3 11th hole. After a pair of pars, he caught fire beginning at the 14th, making birdies on the side's final five holes to make the turn at 6-under 29.

On the front side, he made a 6-foot birdie putt at 2, then ran off three straight birdies beginning at 6, including a successful 31-foot putt at the par-3 8th to reach 10-under. On his final hole of the day, he had an opportunity for a rare 59, but blasted a 325-yard drive through the dogleg right into the rough. His approach shot stopped 40 feet short of the pin, and his chance for a sub-60 round came up 4 feet short.

"His putter was on fire," said Ladd Gowen of Enfield, a volunteer who served as official scorer and statistician for the group of Hughes, Fabian Gomez and Sam Ryder. "It was fun. Even with no fans, you could feel the excitement growing with each birdie."

Hughes may be a virtual unknown, but some of the biggest names in golf are lurking close by after the opening round. Rory McIlroy, the number one player in the Official World Golf Rankings with four major titles under his belt, shot 7-under 63 to tie for second with Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland. Ageless Phil Mickelson, the only back-to-back champion (2001 and 2002) in tournament history, celebrated his 50th birthday last week, and continued the party with a 6-under 64, tying him with five other players, including past major winners Sergio Garcia and Louis Oosthuizen.

Defending champion Chez Reavie shot even-par 70. A total of 106 players in the 156-man field finished the opening round under par.

Check out the complete scoreboard here.

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