
Justin Thomas Joins Scottie Scheffler atop Travelers Championship
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Justin Thomas was on fire during the second round of the Travelers Championship, carding a 6-under 64 that propelled him into first place. There, he joined World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who remains co-leader for the second consecutive round.
Naturally, Thomas was very pleased with his performance on Friday. Speaking to the media after the second round, the 16-time PGA Tour winner identified two factors that were key to his score:
"I was very patient. I hit a lot of really, really good iron shots," he said.
Justin Thomas of the United States plays his shot from the first tee during the second round of the Travelers Championship 2025 at TPC River Highlands on June 20, 2025 in Cromwell, Connecticut.
Justin Thomas of the United States plays his shot from the first tee during the second round of the Travelers Championship 2025 at TPC River Highlands on June 20, 2025 in Cromwell, Connecticut.Like most professional golfers, Thomas was highly critical of his game, but found the result encouraging, given the circumstances.
"I didn't feel like I drove it very well. I kept it in play and kept it in front of me, which is a big part of it, but I just kind of kept it out of trouble."
"I would much prefer to be hitting the middle of the club face and doing that, but it's still a good sign on a really windy day like this if I am far from my best, I can get it around the course and just stay patient, and finally make some putts on that back nine."
"It was nice."
Justin Thomas started the second round with a clean card on the front nine with two birdies. However, the best was yet to come.
After a bogey on the 10th hole, he responded with five consecutive birdies. Thomas then parred the final three holes to finish the round at 6-under and the first 36 holes at 9-under.
JUSTIN THOMAS T1 pic.twitter.com/tz0Uoolomi — Fore Play (@ForePlayPod) June 20, 2025
This performance allowed Thomas to climb 14 spots to first place. The day before, he had finished tied for 15th place at 3-under, with four birdies and one bogey.
Thomas is currently tied for first place with Scheffler, who shot 1-under par for the second round, adding it to his 8-under from the previous day.
The two-time major champion has regained his peak form during the 2025 season, earning one victory at the RBC Heritage and three second-place finishes in 14 tournaments.
His biggest loss this year has been in the major championships, as he missed the cut at the US Open and the PGA Championship, and finished T36 at the Masters Tournament.
Nevertheless, these results have returned him to the top 10 in the world rankings (he is currently ranked 5th) and kept him ranked 4th in the FedEx Cup standings. He is also virtually guaranteed a spot on the Ryder Cup team.
More Golf: Rory McIlroy Quips Media with 'Report Birdies and Bogeys' at Travelers
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Gary Sánchez's two-run single
Early arrivals ready for tough Oakmont challenge A few players have already descended upon Oakmont in preparation for this week's U.S. Open. Todd Lewis catches up with Gary Woodland, Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth on what the course has to offer -- or, rather, take. 4:00 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing


NBC Sports
39 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Scheffler, Thomas, Fleetwood in 3-way tie for 36-hole Travelers lead
CROMWELL, Conn. — Scottie Scheffler provided hope with a late double bogey. Tommy Fleetwood charged through with two eagles in three holes, and so did Justin Thomas with five straight birdies. They wound up tied for the lead on a blustery Friday at the Travelers Championship. All it took was the fate of the wind, good or bad, to shape the leaderboard going into the weekend at the TPC River Highlands, with 12 players separated by four shots. Scheffler was comfortably in front when the left-to-right wind his tee shot had been riding laid down, sending his ball into the fairway bunker on the par-4 17th. He put the next one in the water, barely reached the green with his fourth shot and made double bogey. He wound up with a 1-under 69. Fleetwood felt the wind going right-to-left, then slightly hurting, then slightly helping on the par-5 13th. He had 240 yards to at least cover the water, 264 yards to the hole, and he felt his 9-wood would at least reach the green. So much depended on the fickle wind that fooled so many players. 'I just sort of caught the right moment,' said Fleetwood, who also chipped in for eagle on the reachable 15th and shot 65. 'Came off perfect and then beautiful putt.' Thomas wished he could have hit the ball a little better off the tee, but he stayed out of trouble, stayed patient and cashed in on the back nine with his five straight birdies, two of them from the 25-foot range, that led to a 64. They were at 9-under 131, one shot ahead of Jason Day (66). Rory McIlroy was 3 over through four holes in gusts that topped 30 mph, at one point falling eight shots behind Scheffler, a daunting prospect. But he kept in the game, found hope when Scheffler dropped back to 9 under, and got a little luck on his own. His second shot from a bunker on the 17th was so think that he took one hand off the club and waited for the worse, mainly a splash. It founded the water at such a low trajectory that it skipped out onto the fairway. He failed to get up-and-down, taking bogey, but felt it could have been worse — the shot, and his position going into the weekend He batted for a 71, leaving him only four back. 'The conditions today definitely bunched the entire field together and should make for an exciting weekend,' McIlroy said The conditions — mainly the wind strong that was blowing hats off of heads and sending unoccupied chairs tumbling away — was everything in the second round. The average score was 70.7, nearly two shots harder than the opening round. It was the highest scoring average for a single round at the Travelers since the second round in 2017. The toughest part for players was figuring out which way it was blowing. Scheffler experienced that on the 17th. 'The tee shot, I hit exactly the way I wanted to,' Scheffler said. 'Somehow the wind either stops or goes back because the way my ball was flying it should have basically gotten to the middle of the fairway and I end up in the left bunker. 'Then I catch it a hair fat, and all of a sudden I'm dropping and hitting my fourth shot, and I hit the shot exactly the way we wanted to, and as the ball is flying, you get a gust into the wind, and all of a sudden the ball is not on the green,' he said. 'You can't get every one correct. You just do your best to manage your way around the golf course.' Day had his own version of a hat trick on the front nine — three pars, three birdies, three bogeys — until hitting all the right shots for a 31 on the back to get in the hunt. Denny McCarthy (64) and Austin Eckroat (71) were at 7-under 133, followed by Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley 70) and Nick Taylor (68). Patrick Cantlay had a 68 with a double bogey on the par-5 13th and joined the large group at 135 that included McIlroy. If the wind wasn't bad enough, Luke Clanton showed remarkable patience in his second tournament as a pro. He had been playing with Jordan Spieth, who had to withdraw with soreness in his upper back on Thursday. Clanton was a single in the middle of the field, behind Scheffler and U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun, in front of Andrew Novak and Jacob Bridgeman. He waited on every shot and did well to post a 72, leaving him in the middle of the pack.


Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Scheffler part of 3-way tie for lead at Travelers with Fleetwood and Thomas
CROMWELL, Conn. — Scottie Scheffler provided hope with a late double bogey. Tommy Fleetwood charged through with two eagles in three holes , and so did Justin Thomas with five straight birdies . They wound up tied for the lead on a blustery Friday at the Travelers Championship. All it took was the fate of the wind, good or bad, to shape the leaderboard going into the weekend at the TPC River Highlands, with 12 players separated by four shots. Scheffler was comfortably in front when the left-to-right wind his tee shot had been riding laid down, sending his ball into the fairway bunker on the par-4 17th. He put the next one in the water, barely reached the green with his fourth shot and made double bogey. He wound up with a 1-under 69. Fleetwood felt the wind going right-to-left, then slightly hurting, then slightly helping on the par-5 13th. He had 240 yards to at least cover the water, 264 yards to the hole, and he felt his 9-wood would at least reach the green. So much depended on the fickle wind that fooled so many players. 'I just sort of caught the right moment,' said Fleetwood, who also chipped in for eagle on the reachable 15th and shot 65. 'Came off perfect and then beautiful putt.' Thomas wished he could have hit the ball a little better off the tee, but he stayed out of trouble, stayed patient and cashed in on the back nine with his five straight birdies, two of them from the 25-foot range, that led to a 64. They were at 9-under 131, one shot ahead of Jason Day (66). Rory McIlroy was 3 over through four holes in gusts that topped 30 mph, at one point falling eight shots behind Scheffler, a daunting prospect. But he kept in the game, found hope when Scheffler dropped back to 9 under, and got a little luck on his own. His second shot from a bunker on the 17th was so think that he took one hand off the club and waited for the worse, mainly a splash. It founded the water at such a low trajectory that it skipped out onto the fairway. He failed to get up-and-down, taking bogey, but felt it could have been worse — the shot, and his position going into the weekend He batted for a 71, leaving him only four back. 'The conditions today definitely bunched the entire field together and should make for an exciting weekend,' McIlroy said The conditions — mainly the wind strong that was blowing hats off of heads and sending unoccupied chairs tumbling away — was everything in the second round. The average score was 70.7, nearly two shots harder than the opening round. It was the highest scoring average for a single round at the Travelers since the second round in 2017. The toughest part for players was figuring out which way it was blowing. Scheffler experienced that on the 17th. 'The tee shot, I hit exactly the way I wanted to,' Scheffler said. 'Somehow the wind either stops or goes back because the way my ball was flying it should have basically gotten to the middle of the fairway and I end up in the left bunker. 'Then I catch it a hair fat, and all of a sudden I'm dropping and hitting my fourth shot, and I hit the shot exactly the way we wanted to, and as the ball is flying, you get a gust into the wind, and all of a sudden the ball is not on the green,' he said. 'You can't get every one correct. You just do your best to manage your way around the golf course.' Day had his own version of a hat trick on the front nine — three pars, three birdies, three bogeys — until hitting all the right shots for a 31 on the back to get in the hunt. Denny McCarthy (64) and Austin Eckroat (71) were at 7-under 133, followed by Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley 70) and Nick Taylor (68). Patrick Cantlay had a 68 with a double bogey on the par-5 13th and joined the large group at 135 that included McIlroy. If the wind wasn't bad enough, Luke Clanton showed remarkable patience in his second tournament as a pro. He had been playing with Jordan Spieth, who had to withdraw with soreness in his upper back on Thursday. Clanton was a single in the middle of the field, behind Scheffler and U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun, in front of Andrew Novak and Jacob Bridgeman. He waited on every shot and did well to post a 72, leaving him in the middle of the pack. ___ AP golf: