Blake Davis
Thursday was a shocking return to PGA Tour golf following the US Open classic at Pinehurst on Sunday night. But as wild as the swing has come back at 62 and 64 seconds, the leaderboard remains stacked after the first round. While this is almost always the case in a unique event, this week provided a particularly interesting top of the board with varying styles of play carrying the day.
Tom Kim leads after an impressive 62 in the first round, but he may not be the most convincing story. Rickie Fowler and Akshay Bhatia – who had completely different seasons – are near the top, and they are joined by names like Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele.
Let’s take a closer look at Kim’s round and what’s in store for the next three days as the eighth and final exclusive event of the year unfolds at TPC River Highlands.
The leader
1.Tom Kim (-8)
This is a very eclectic top of the line, and Kim epitomizes that. He’s not the greatest hitter or the most talented player, but he was incredible on Thursday, on the eve of his 22nd birthday. What did he do well? All. And although his putter got him up to 62, as we discussed on the First Cut Podcast, this is the kind of course Kim can compete on.
Kim, who hit 11 of 14 fairways, came up with that plan Thursday.
“I just hit the ball a lot on the field,” he said. “Obviously, on this course, if you start hitting the ball downfield, you can hit some pins and have some good opportunities.
“Obviously, I put it well,” he continued. “When you shoot 62s or 64s, you have to make a good shot, and I took care of that opportunity. My targets in general, like I chose really good targets with my approach shots. When you have 8 irons, sometimes you want to try a lot of hitting the pin, but at the same time you kind of get into that headspace where, okay, ‘I’ve got it, this is where I need to pick my target, I don’t feel like I need to push or anything’ and just follow that game plan. “
Other contenders
T2. Rickie Fowler, Akshay Bhatia, Will Zalatoris, Kurt Kitayama (-6)
T6. Taylor Pendrith, Mackenzie Hughes, Patrick Rodgers, Scottie Scheffler, Cam Davis, Tony Finau (-5)
Fowler and Bhatia went in different directions this year. Bhatia is having the best season of his career (by far), and Fowler is having one of the worst. Still, they arrived at the 64-year-old duel in much the same way.
The difference is that despite both swinging the bat on Thursday, only Bhatia has real staying power given how well he has played. After his victory at the Texas Open and some strong showings at major championships, competing in an exclusive event is the logical next step for the 22-year-old.
The guy I have my eye on, though, is someone behind Fowler and Bhatia. It’s Tony. Finau. Big Tone led the field in approach play on Thursday and has been playing really solid golf with a T18 at the PGA, T17 at the Charles Schwab Challenge, T8 at the Memorial and T3 at the US Open. This seems like a trend to me, and if he keeps doing it like he did on Thursday, I think it will continue this weekend.
Scottie’s recovery
After winning five of eight PGA Tour events, there was much consternation over Scheffler’s near-miss cut at the US Open last week.
He recovered well, with another 65 that seems like an automatic number on the regular PGA Tour charts these days. His taco found some fire in the first round and his chances of winning the tournament have dropped, although he is three off the lead and is not currently in the top five.
“I feel like I hit it well,” Scheffler said. “I found some swings, or found some things in my swing at the beginning of the week, and I definitely feel like I’m swinging a lot better than I did last week.”
“It’s kind of hard to explain, to be honest with you,” Scheffler said of what he found in his swing. “But I’m really improving the feel at the top of my swing, making sure my grip is in the right position.”
After hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation, I’d say the grip is in a better position than it was before.
Updated 2024 Travelers Championship Odds and Picks
- Scottie Scheffler: 5/2
- Xander Schauffele: 6-1
- Tom Kim: 6-1
- Colin Morikawa: 12-1
- Tony Finau: 16-1
- Will Zalatoris: 20-1
- Akshay Bhatia: 20-1
- Ludvig Aberg: 20-1
Scheffler at 5/2 is wild considering his position on the leaderboard, but that’s emblematic of the kind of year he’s having. I’d rather have Finau at 16-1 or Bhatia at 20-1 than Scheffler at 5/2. Those are two horses I would pick for Friday’s second round, and I think at least one of them will be there by the end of Sunday.
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