Protests expected as Senior PGA tees off at Trump National

CROMWELL, Conn. – Brendon Todd and Dustin Johnson each shot career-low 61s at the Travelers Championship on Saturday, leaving Todd with a two-stroke lead. The 34-year-old Georgian, playing a couple holes behind Johnson, had a chance at the tournament’s second 60 of the week but missed a 10-foot putt to the left on the 18th hole. He finished with a 54-hole score of 192 after shooting 66-65 the first two rounds. Johnson, who is looking for his 21st win on the PGA TOUR, also has improved each day, opening with a 69-64. Both golfers shot bogey-free rounds, with Todd making five birdies on the front nine and Johnson five on the back. Todd said the round became a game of whatever you can do, I can do just as well. RELATED: Leaderboard | Tee times | Morikawa’s made cut streak comes to an end | Gordon making the most of opportunity at Travelers “It’s hard to miss the leader boards obviously, so (Johnson’s) name was up there from a pretty early point,” Todd said. “Again, I just use it as motivation to go out there and make some more birdies.” Todd is looking for his third win of the season but his first since the fall, when he went back-to-back at the Bermuda Championship and the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico. “Whenever I get a two- or three-week stretch in a row, I tend to be playing better by the end of it,” he said. “That’s just something I’m using to my advantage now after missing two cuts. I’m peaking in the third week and hopefully I can get it done tomorrow.” Despite going 9 under for the day, Johnson lamented missing several birdie chances and and eagle attempt on the par-4 ninth, when his ball stopped six inches from the pin. Just two of his birdie puts, an 18-footer at the 10th hole and a 21-footer on the 12th, were longer than 9 feet. “I really felt like I controlled the distance with my irons really well and hit tons of good shots,” he said. “I had a lot of really good looks at birdie.” Kevin Streelman fired a 63 after two straight rounds of 66 and was just three shots back. Mackenzie Hughes, who led after a 60 on Thursday, shot his second straight 68 for sole possession of fourth place. “Today if I had putted like I did the first day, I could have shot low 60s for sure,” Hughes said. “Play the same as I did today tee to green and roll in a few putts and it’ll be awesome.” Bryson DeChambeau and Kevin Na each shot 65 and were tied for fifth at 197. Phil Mickelson, who celebrated his 50th birthday last week, began the day with a one-stroke lead but struggled, finishing tied for seventh in a group six shots back. He made just his second bogey of the week on the third hole and also dropped strokes on the seventh and 13th before finishing with a 71. Mickelson, looking for his 45th win and third on this course, has mostly struggled. He missed the cut in his previous three tournaments. “I haven’t played great this year,” he said. “I’ve missed a lot of cuts, and the next thing I know my game is starting to come back and I can sense it. I played two great rounds, and this is really a lot of fun.” Top-ranked Rory McIlroy, who opened the tournament with a 63, said he feels he is too far back to contend for the title after rounds of 68 and 69. He bogeyed two of his final four holes — his tee shot landed in the water on the course’s signature 15th hole and he also made bogey at 18 — to finish in a group eight shots back. “I guess, if I had have been able to sneak a couple more over the last few holes, get to 14 and then all of a sudden you feel like you’re right in it. But I went the other way those last few holes, and that’s what took me out of it,” he said. Jason Day requested to be tested for COVID-19 on Saturday morning just before his round. Officials decided to have him play as a single on Saturday as a precautionary measure. He shot a 69 and is 1 under par headed into Sunday. The round began early in the day because of threatening weather, with golfers going off both the first and 10th tees. It finished just before the skies opened. A forecast for more rain on Sunday will mean another early start.

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The three-week FedExCup Playoffs begin with THE NORTHERN TRUST at TPC Boston. The 125-man field will be cut down to the top 70 at the end of play Sunday, then the top 30 at the culmination of next week's BMW Championship in Chicago. As always, the season-ending TOUR Championship in Atlanta will then determine who wins the FedExCup, as current No. 1 Justin Thomas looks to join Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy as the only players to win it more than once. Woods, who has slipped down the standings some since winning the inaugural ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Japan last fall, returns to action at TPC Boston. So does last year's FedExCup winner McIlroy, while Patrick Reed defends his title from 2019 at THE NORTHERN TRUST. FIELD NOTES: A few spots in the top 125 will be confirmed this weekend at the Wyndham Championship... For now, all 125 golfers who are eligible to play THE NORTHERN TRUST are committed... Current FedExCup points leader and Wyndham Rewards Top 10 winner Justin Thomas will lead the pack in Boston... Collin Morikawa will return to action for the first time since winning the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park... There will be eight past winners at TPC Boston in the field, including Woods, McIlroy, Webb Simpson, Bryson DeChambeau, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, and Charley Hoffman. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 1,500 FedExCup points. COURSE: TPC Boston, 7,342 yards, par 71. Originally an Arnold Palmer design, the course was established in 2002 and redesigned five years later by Gil Hanse with eight-time TOUR winner Brad Faxon serving as a consultant. Golf Digest named the effort by Hanse and Faxon as the Best Private Remodel in 2007. TPC Boston's par-5 18th hole was altered in 2012 to feature a smaller, elevated green. STORYLINES: Only the top 125 golfers in the FedExCup standings are eligible for THE NORTHERN TRUST. The field for the BMW Championship gets trimmed to the top 70, while the TOUR Championship features only the top 30... THE NORTHERN TRUST will rotate between TPC Boston and Liberty National Golf Club. It will return to TPC Boston in 2022… This is the second year the FedExCup playoffs feature only three events, so look for it to be a sprint to East Lake... Tiger Woods is making just his sixth start this season after a T37 at the PGA Championship. He withdrew from last year's THE NORTHERN TRUST, citing a mild oblique strain. This will mark the 11th time Woods has played TPC Boston; he won in 2006... THE NORTHERN TRUST is the only FedExCup event to feature a 36-hole cut. 72-HOLE TOURNAMENT RECORD: 261, Jason Day (2015 - Plainfield Country Club) TPC BOSTON RECORD: 262, Henrik Stenson (2013), Charley Hoffman (2010), Vijay Singh (2008). 18-HOLE TOURNAMENT RECORD: 61, Brandt Snedeker (3rd round, 2011 - Plainfield Country Club). TPC BOSTON RECORD - 61, Vijay Singh (2006), Mike Weir (2008). LAST TIME: Patrick Reed won his second THE NORTHERN TRUST title by one over Abraham Ancer. After an up-and-down opening nine Sunday that featured three birdies and three bogeys, Reed birdied two of his final five holes for 69 and the victory. The runner-up was Ancer's best on the PGA TOUR. Harold Varner III, Jon Rahm, and Adam Scott rounded out the top five. Past FedExCup champs Jordan Spieth, Brandt Snedeker and Rory McIlroy (who would go on to win the 2019 FedExCup) tied for sixth with Louis Oosthuizen. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 7:10 a.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday, 7 p.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Sunday, 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Featured Groups), 2:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (Featured Holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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