Fleetwood grabs PGA Travelers lead
NEW YORK: England's Tommy Fleetwood, seeking his first PGA Tour title, fired a seven-under par 63 to seize a three-stroke lead after Saturday's third round of the Travelers Championship.
The 34-year-old Merseysider eagled the par-five 13th for the second consecutive day on the way to standing on 16-under 194 after 54 holes at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut.
American Russell Henley, who won his fifth career PGA title in March at Bay Hill, matched his career-low PGA round with a bogey-free 61 to share second on 197 with US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, who shot 63.
"It'll come down to a bunch of things really," Fleetwood said. "Being in the last group, I'm really happy with that.
"I'm happy with the work I've done. It's just an amazing opportunity to go out here tomorrow and hopefully it's my time."
World number one Scottie Scheffler, second-ranked Rory McIlroy and world number five Justin Thomas stumbled to fall well back, Scheffler and Thomas having shared the 36-hole lead with Fleetwood.
Scottie Scheffler plays a shot from a bunker on the first hole during the third round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament.
Paris Olympic runner-up Fleetwood, ranked 17th, has seven DP World Tour wins but none on the PGA despite 41 top-10 finishes.
Fleetwood sank a birdie putt from just inside 13 feet at the third hole and rolled in a 66-foot birdie putt, his season long, at the par-three fifth.
At the par-five sixth, Fleetwood dropped his approach inches from the hole and tapped in for birdie.
Fleetwood made a 19-foot birdie putt at the 10th then eagled 13, sinking a 30-foot putt from just off the green — "13 has been very kind to me so far. I'd like to keep up with that."
Fleetwood, who had two eagles on the season when the week began, has made three in the past two days and only one bogey this week.
After driving the green at the par-four 15th to set up a a tap-in birdie, Fleetwood closed with three pars.
Henley made five birdies on the front nine to move within two of the lead and stayed on Fleetwood's heels most of the day, adding a 14-foot birdie putt at the 12th, a seven-footer for birdie at 13, a four-footer to birdie 14 and a closing birdie from just outside five feet.
Justin Thomas chips out of the rough on the ninth hole during the third round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament.
TOP-RATED STARS STUMBLE
Defending champion Scheffler struggled on his 29th birthday, making an triple bogey and a double bogey in the same round for the first time in his career in firing a 72 to stand on 203.
Scheffler made his first triple bogey since last August, missing the first green from a nearby bunker, then finding the rough.
Last month's PGA Championship winner found water off the eighth tee on the way to a double bogey.
Thomas, a two-time major winner, took a quadruple-bogey nine at the 13th, losing his tee shot into left rough and needing three shots to escape greenside rough, on the way to shooting 73 to stand on 204.
McIlroy fired a 68 to stand on 203. He birdied four of the first eight holes, his longest putt among them from 11 feet at the fourth, before a double bogey at 12 dropped him back, taking four to reach the green after going long with his approach. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
12 hours ago
- Observer
Fleetwood grabs PGA Travelers lead
NEW YORK: England's Tommy Fleetwood, seeking his first PGA Tour title, fired a seven-under par 63 to seize a three-stroke lead after Saturday's third round of the Travelers Championship. The 34-year-old Merseysider eagled the par-five 13th for the second consecutive day on the way to standing on 16-under 194 after 54 holes at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. American Russell Henley, who won his fifth career PGA title in March at Bay Hill, matched his career-low PGA round with a bogey-free 61 to share second on 197 with US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, who shot 63. "It'll come down to a bunch of things really," Fleetwood said. "Being in the last group, I'm really happy with that. "I'm happy with the work I've done. It's just an amazing opportunity to go out here tomorrow and hopefully it's my time." World number one Scottie Scheffler, second-ranked Rory McIlroy and world number five Justin Thomas stumbled to fall well back, Scheffler and Thomas having shared the 36-hole lead with Fleetwood. Scottie Scheffler plays a shot from a bunker on the first hole during the third round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament. Paris Olympic runner-up Fleetwood, ranked 17th, has seven DP World Tour wins but none on the PGA despite 41 top-10 finishes. Fleetwood sank a birdie putt from just inside 13 feet at the third hole and rolled in a 66-foot birdie putt, his season long, at the par-three fifth. At the par-five sixth, Fleetwood dropped his approach inches from the hole and tapped in for birdie. Fleetwood made a 19-foot birdie putt at the 10th then eagled 13, sinking a 30-foot putt from just off the green — "13 has been very kind to me so far. I'd like to keep up with that." Fleetwood, who had two eagles on the season when the week began, has made three in the past two days and only one bogey this week. After driving the green at the par-four 15th to set up a a tap-in birdie, Fleetwood closed with three pars. Henley made five birdies on the front nine to move within two of the lead and stayed on Fleetwood's heels most of the day, adding a 14-foot birdie putt at the 12th, a seven-footer for birdie at 13, a four-footer to birdie 14 and a closing birdie from just outside five feet. Justin Thomas chips out of the rough on the ninth hole during the third round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament. TOP-RATED STARS STUMBLE Defending champion Scheffler struggled on his 29th birthday, making an triple bogey and a double bogey in the same round for the first time in his career in firing a 72 to stand on 203. Scheffler made his first triple bogey since last August, missing the first green from a nearby bunker, then finding the rough. Last month's PGA Championship winner found water off the eighth tee on the way to a double bogey. Thomas, a two-time major winner, took a quadruple-bogey nine at the 13th, losing his tee shot into left rough and needing three shots to escape greenside rough, on the way to shooting 73 to stand on 204. McIlroy fired a 68 to stand on 203. He birdied four of the first eight holes, his longest putt among them from 11 feet at the fourth, before a double bogey at 12 dropped him back, taking four to reach the green after going long with his approach. — AFP
Observer
2 days ago
- Observer
Zverev overcomes stomach bug to set up Halle semi-final with Medvedev
London: Alexander Zverev's quest for a first grasscourt title took an unexpected turn at the Halle Open on Friday when the German second seed was forced to sprint from court to vomit mid-match before rallying to defeat Italy's Flavio Cobolli 6-4 7-6(8). Second seed Zverev started the match on the front foot by breaking in the first game but as he was serving in the second, he requested a toilet break to throw up and bolted down the tunnel. Once he returned, Zverev struggled with the intensity at first and clearly looked unwell, bending over in exhaustion after points and gasping for breath after a marathon rally. "I felt fine before the match. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I felt really, really bad. I felt ill, went to throw up and then 15 minutes later I felt OK again," Zverev said. "I don't know what it was, I've never experienced that before. I hope I'll be fine in the next couple of hours when the adrenaline settles. After that I think it was a pretty good match." Although nowhere near 100%, Zverev held serve as he slowly drew on his reserves of energy, firing his first ace of the match on set point. The second set was an even contest as Cobolli relied on his movement to continue troubling Zverev, but the German eventually triumphed in a close tiebreak, finishing the match with 22 winners and 12 points at the net. The semi-final pits Zverev against Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev, a familiar foe who holds a 12-7 head-to-head advantage and has won their last three meetings. "I think he's the guy that I played the most in my career. I'm looking forward to it," Zverev added. "A lot of things happened in the last 18 months. He's one of my toughest opponents in my career. It's going to be a great match and I'm really looking forward to facing him." Medvedev moved into the semi-finals with a 6-4 6-3 victory over American Alex Michelsen despite suffering a nosebleed in the second set which forced the 2021 Halle runner-up to take a medical timeout. However, the Russian served well to deny his opponent a single break point opportunity and wrapped up the contest in 85 minutes as he reached the last four without dropping a set, with the only thing causing problems being the shadows on the court. "The shadows on the court made the conditions quite difficult. It took some time to get used to it. It was then better in the second set," said Medvedev, who will return to the top 10 ahead of Wimbledon. — Reuters
Observer
4 days ago
- Observer
Draper into Queen's Club quarterfinals, Mensik loses
LONDON: British second seed Jack Draper defeated Alexei Popyrin 3-6 6-2 7-6(5) to reach the quarterfinals of the Queen's Club Championships on Wednesday, while Czech eighth seed Jakub Mensik lost his temper during defeat to Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut. Draper won their only previous meeting when he beat Popyrin in straight sets earlier this year on his way to reaching the Qatar Open final, but faced a much tougher battle this time and needed the backing of the home crowd to pull him through. "There's days where I need that extra support, today was one of them," Draper said. "Tough match and credit to Alexei, it was a bit up and down but you guys helped me through that so thank you." Draper found himself trailing when the Australian broke to lead 5-4 and served out to win the opening set but the 23-year-old Briton was unfazed and won four consecutive games to take the second set. In the decider Draper held two match points with Popyrin serving, but the Australian rallied to win four unanswered points to make it 5-5. In the tiebreak, Popyrin broke first and Draper responded. The Briton made the decisive break to lead 6-5 and smashed his 10th ace of the match to earn a hard-fought victory. "My family and friends are here and I love being at home and playing in front of them so it's an emotional moment for me honestly," Draper added. Draper will face American Brandon Nakashima after he defeated British wildcard Dan Evans 7-5 7-6(4) to reach back-to-back quarterfinals on grass after his recent run at the Stuttgart Open. "My game suits the grass well so really glad to play well when it mattered today," Nakashima said. Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut serves against Czech Republic's Jakub Mensik. — AFP MENSIK MELTDOWN Mensik crashed out after his 3-6 6-3 7-5 loss to Bautista Agut, receiving a code violation warning for unsportsmanlike conduct at one stage. Mensik won the Miami Open in March, beating Novak Djokovic in the final having defeated Bautista Agut in the first round, but at Queen's the teenager cut a frustrated figure as the 37-year-old Spaniard fought back after going a set down. The Czech 19-year-old was 3-1 down in the second set and after failing to convert a break point he smashed his racket on the ground which then slipped from his hands and flew into the stands, where luckily there were plenty of empty seats. The experienced Bautista Agut now meets Danish fourth seed Holger Rune who stormed back after losing the opening set to beat American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald 2-6 6-1 6-1. The pair delighted the crowd who remained at the Andy Murray Arena for the late match with some dazzling tennis, with Rune at one stage rescuing a lob from McDonald with a through-the-legs shot from the baseline. McDonald broke twice in the first set, with the Dane doing likewise in the second where he also hit 10 aces, and Rune roared into a 4-0 lead in the deciding set to end the American's challenge. — Reuters
