Travelers Championship notebook: Historic finish for amateur Michael Thorbjornsen
As the top golfers approached the middle of the back nine Sunday afternoon, a three-way sprint for second heated up quickly. Xander Schauffele held a slim lead at the top while first-round leader J.T. Poston, amateur Michael Thorbjornsen and PGA Tour rookie Sahith Theegala traded shots just strokes behind.
Quickly, Theegala’s race became one for the lead. He birdied 15 with Schauffele watching from the tee and birdied again on 17 to take sole possession of the top spot on the leaderboard. But on 18, Theegala met a fairway bunker. Five shots later, he made double-bogey six, dropping him into a second-place tie with Poston at 17 under.
“My record here hasn’t been that great,” Poston said. “I don’t think I’ve ever made a cut here. So for it to be my first cut made here it’s nice to have a great finish and get myself in contention.”
Poston made three birdies on the back nine, while Thorbjornsen dropped into fourth after a pair of bogeys on 12 and 13. Shooting 15 under, the 20-year-old completed the best finish in tournament history by an amateur, topping Jim Grant who tied for sixth in 1966 when the tournament was named the Insurance City Open and was played at Wethersfield Country Club.
Not the final round Cantlay envisioned: World No. 6 Patrick Cantlay came into Sunday prepared for a battle with his friend and former Zurich Classic partner Schauffele. The two were neck-and-neck with Cantlay just one stroke behind at 16 under coming into Sunday, but the wheels came off quickly. He recorded five bogeys on the front nine and finished with 10 bogeys or worse in the final round, including a double-bogey 6 on 12.
Cantlay dropped six shots on his total in the final round to finish the tournament 10 under and in a six-way knot for 13th place.
Shot of the weekend? Cam Davis had a rough weekend, shooting 3-over-par 73 Saturday and 4 over in the final round Sunday. He made four bogeys on the back nine, including a double-bogey 7 on 13. When he got to 18, his luck hadn’t changed.
Off the tee, the world No. 82 out of Australia shanked his drive way right, into the crowd on the hill. His caddie advised him to shoot left off the hill, around the menacing tree straight on. But Davis was 14 strokes behind the lead at the time, playing the final hole at his third Travelers — there was no reason to play conservative. He wanted to go over the tree.
“I said, ‘Just give me a distance and we’ll give it a crack,’ and I hit a nice one,” Davis said.
The fans — parted to give him a shot — collectively turned their heads in awe as the ball cleared the tree, and they erupted in cheers once it landed on the green and rolled 10 feet from the hole.
“It was fun to hit a shot like that after the day I was having,” Davis said.
Bits and pieces… World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler entered Sunday at 10 under, seven strokes behind the lead. He made even-par to finish in a tie for 10th place.
Rory McIlroy got back under par Sunday with help from four birdies on the back nine. The No. 2 ranked player in the world led after the first round with an 8-under 62 but made even-par in the second and shot 2-over 72 in the third round. McIlroy shot 3-under 67 in the final round Sunday to finish 9 under in a tie for 20th place.
Chesson Hadley shot 6-under 64 on Sunday by way of four birdies and an eagle on 15 to finish in fifth place, shooting 14 under for the tournament.
Defending champion Harris English shot 1-over 71 on Sunday, dropping into a tie for 20th place at 9 under for the tournament.
Chez Reavie, the 2019 champion, finished in a seven-way tie for eighth at 11 under after shooting 3-under 67 on Sunday.
Windfall for charity: The 2022 Travelers Championship generated more than $2.5 million for more than 130 charitable organizations. The tournament donates 100% of its net proceeds to nonprofits. The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford — which provides a summer camp experience for children with serious illnesses — was the primary beneficiary this year.
