Reavie Jumps to 6-Stroke Advantage At Travelers Championship

CROMWELL, CT — Oh, what a difference an hour can make in the game of golf. Standing on the 10th tee in the third round of the Travelers Championship, second-round leader Zack Sucher was at 15-under par, while his playing partner in the final group of the day, Chez Reavie, was at minus-9.

Walking off the 13th green, Reavie had birdied four straight holes to reach 13-under, while Sucher bogeyed 10 and double-bogeyed both 11 and 12 to drop to minus-10. It's hard to fathom, but that equates to a 9-stroke swing in about 60 minutes.

Sucher recovered to par the remaining holes, finishing with a 40 on the back nine, but Reavie did not stop his assault on the TPC River Highlands. He birdied 15, 17 and 18 to close with a course-record tying 28 on the inward nine, completing the third round with a 63 tand a 54-hole total of 16-under par 194, assuming a 6-stroke advantage over Sucher and former PGA champion Keegan Bradley.

Reavie's sole victory on the PGA TOUR came in 2008 at the RBC Canadian Open. He came into the Travelers on a hot streak, however, tying for third last week in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

"I putted really well last week," Reavie said in a post-round meeting with the media. "Sunday I didn't make a whole lot of putts, but hit a lot of good putts that just didn't go in. Been feeling great with the putter for a while now."

Bradley closed within one shot of the lead at one point, but hit his tee shot on the short par 4 15th and made bogey en route to a 69. He will play in the final group with Reavie, hoping to duplicate Bubba Watson's feat last year; Watson came from six shots behind in the final round to capture the tournament for the third time.

"Anything can happen out here; that's exciting," Bradley said.

Jason Day, the 2015 PGA Championship winner, followed Friday's blistering 63 with a 2-under 68 to tie for fourth with Roberto Diaz at 9-under. Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood, Kevin Tway and Martin Laird are another stroke back at minus-8.

Complete results for all players are available here.

Chez Reavie birdies #15 to take a 5-stroke advantage. (Tim Jensen/Patch Media Corp.)

2-time tournament runner-up Paul Casey takes off his shoes and socks and rolls up both pant legs in order to hit a shot on the 15th hole at the Travelers Championship. He lofted a great shot to within 20 feet of the cup, but missed his birdie attempt. (Tim Jensen/Patch Media Corp.)