Cameron Young shot into the lead with an explosive 11-under 59 during the third round of the Travelers Championship, but even he knew it wouldn’t last long.
“It could be anywhere from two to 10, who knows,” Young said when asked how far along he thought he would be on Sunday.
Finally, at 8:35 p.m., Young got his answer: five.
Young may have set the blistering pace, but four hours into his conquest of TPC River Highlands, the leaders were quickly out of the gate and it was neck and neck… and neck and neck and neck.
Tom Kim had toasted his birthday on Friday with the 36-hole lead. On Saturday he ensured the party would continue until the final round, but this time fellow veteran Scottie Scheffler will be chasing him.
Tom Kim maintained his lead at the Travelers Championship after the third round
Scheffler, Akshay Bhatia, Xander Schauffe and Sungjae Im entered Kim’s celebrations atop a clustered leaderboard after an explosive third round.
But Kim, who had led since the opening lap, refused to relinquish his lead to the threat of his pursuers. He recovered from an early fourth-inning bogey – his first of the tournament – with six birdies to establish a one-stroke lead heading into Sunday’s showdown.
The chasing pack left TPC River Highlands dry of birdies as they chased Kim’s leading 18-under, leaving Young and his 59 unfathomably in the dust.
At 1:30 PM ET, a full 30 minutes before the overnight leader took to the first tee, Young stepped off the 18th green as the 13th player in PGA Tour history to break 60 – and the new co-leader.
With seven birdies, two eagles, a punchy par putt on the last and not a single bogey in sight, Young shot an 11-under 59 and clawed his way to even Kim’s 36-hole 13-under lead.
But he admitted his blistering 59 may have come a little too late as Kim and Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and Bhatia were all at 11 under to take their own shot at TPC River Highlands.
By the time the horn sounded at 3:30 PM ET, as bad weather once again rocked Connecticut, Kim had only six holes in his round, Bhatia and Scheffler seven, but Young was already one shot back.
Cameron Young had shot an 11-under 59 earlier in the day but was left in the dust
Kim held off the chasing pack to maintain his wire-to-wire lead at five under
Young got a small reprieve from attacking his clubhouse lead. Dangerous weather swept through Cromwell, sending two spectators to hospital after being struck by lightning, and leaving Young to enjoy his moment at the top of the leaderboard ahead of Kim and co for three hours longer. sent him toppling over.
As Young and his fellow early risers searched the baked greens of TPC River Highlands for birdies in the morning heat, the softer fairways and playing surfaces left behind by the heavy rain freely plundered them.
It was a surrender that Scheffler and Schauffele accepted willingly and with little mercy.
Two back-nine bogeys were the only blemish on the world number 1’s card as he hit four consecutive birdies to finish for a six-under 64, which was matched by playing partner Bhatia for a share of 17 under second.
Schauffele had been the last on the range as the players were driven back to their respective holes for the restart, but when he finally returned to the ninth fairway he came away with a birdie three on the par-four.
The PGA Championship winner grabbed three more birdies from the clutches of the Connecticut course, in addition to the three he sank before the heavens opened.
The California native admitted he “denied” feeling exhausted during his recent hot stretch of golf, but there was no sign of fatigue as he engaged Kim and Scheffler in a duel around the back nine.
Scottie Scheffler was hot on Kim’s heels and finished the day with just one shot back
A bogey in the final dropped Xander Schauffele to a tie for fourth place at 16 under
However, he stumbled at the finish when a solitary bogey on the last knocked him back into a tie for fourth alongside Im at 16 under. It reduced his chances of joining Sunday’s final group, which would see the players set out in trios for the final round in an attempt to combat a new weather threat.
Meanwhile, Morikawa, playing alongside Kim, couldn’t quite conquer the TPC River Highlands as he had the day before, but his four-under 66 still took solo sixth place, three shots behind the leader and one shot ahead of Tony Finau, Shane Lowry. and Justin Thomas.
It had been Morikawa who had predicted on Friday that the scores could double over the weekend, a prophecy fulfilled by Kim and co. 24 hours later.
Kim may have made sure he kept his wire-to-wire lead, but with Scheffler, Bhatia and Schauffele hot on his heels, New England is about to witness a shootout on Sunday and Keegan Bradley’s winning 23-under from last year is good. the firing line.