Relief for Bronson Burgoon as he joins six-way tie for Travelers lead

US Tour

Michael Schmitt
June 21, 2019

As many as six players share the lead on six under par after the opening round of the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut.

Americans Ryan Armour, Bronson Burgoon and Zach Sucher, Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes, Mexico’s Abraham Ancer and South Korean Kyoung-Hoon Lee all shot 64s at a rainy TPC River Highlands course on Thursday to form a six-way tie for the lead.

https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1141911115472998402

Of the six leaders, no one was happier with their performance than Burgoon, who finally found some form after enduring a horror start to the season that saw him miss 10 of 14 cuts.

Burgoon admitted that after his last missed cut at the Memorial, he really started to doubt himself.

“Right after Memorial I was in a pretty dark place when it came to my golf game,” said the 32-year-old Texan.

“I took two weeks off and regrouped and refocused and got a lot of really good work in.

“It has been kind of a rough year for me. I struggled. I guess struggled would be an understatement.”

Burgoon didn’t struggle on Thursday, however, firing six birdies in a bogey-free round to grab a share of the lead.

A Thursday 64 for @BronsonBurgoon.

He joins Armour for an early tie for the lead @TravelersChamp.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/ExzBJsxN8J

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 20, 2019

Another six-man group lies just one shot off the pace – England’s Paul Casey and Americans Chez Reavie, Keegan Bradley, Robert Streb, Scott Langley and Brady Schnell.

Patrick Cantlay, Tommy Fleetwood and Louis Oosthuizen, meanwhile, are among the group on four under, two off the lead.

https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1141903567806058497

He may be an Englishman, but Casey was no fan of the bad weather in Cromwell on Thursday.

“I don’t like the rain,” he said afterwards. “That’s why I live in Arizona. I can’t stand this, and I get it so often, ‘Oh, you’re from England. You must be used to this.’ It’s like, I’m not used to it; 22 years I’ve lived in the States. I’m not used to rain. I can’t stand it.”

Elsewhere, Phil Mickelson opened with a three-under-par 67, while World No 1 Brooks Koepka could only muster three birdies and four bogeys as he opened with a one-over 71 that leaves him seven shots off the pace.

It was only Koepka’s third over-par score in his past 22 strokeplay rounds.

US Tour