Cam Smith holds narrow lead at CIMB Classic

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THE OVERVIEW CROMWELL, Conn. – Last week was about survival. This week at the Travelers Championship? “It’s guns blazing,� Patrick Reed said Wednesday. “Everyone is going to be firing at flags.� For those who spent the week – or maybe just a couple of rounds before an early exit – at the U.S. Open, an immediate visit to TPC River Highlands no doubt will be a welcomed relief, a chance to flex the scoring muscles. Having to give up the chase for birdies at Shinnecock Hills for most of the week, players can now return to regular PGA TOUR attack mode. Since 1994, every winner of the Travelers has finished double-digits under par, with three of those winners finishing at 20 under or better. During that same span, just three U.S. Open winners have reached double digits. Nine winners, in fact, have been at even par or worse. That includes last week’s champ Brooks Koepka, who won his second straight U.S. Open title by shooting 1 over (after finishing a record-tying 16 under the previous year at Erin Hills in a rare offensive U.S. Open explosion). “Sometimes having a tournament right after a major doesn’t help but having this tournament right after the tournament last week, I think it gets guys back into their normal routines,� said Rory McIlroy, making his second start at the Travelers. “They play a golf course which if you can make birdies, you can get on runs. That’s a nice thing.� Most U.S. Open courses are long – Shinnecock Hills was 7,440 yards and Erin Hills maxed out at 7,800. Meanwhile, TPC River Highlands measures just 6,841, giving players a chance to hit significantly shorter irons into pins. Throw in the drivable par-4 15th, and it’s a vastly different approach this week. But that also creates a different mindset. Knowing there are more scoring opportunities, players will feel the pressure of keeping up instead of just hanging on. Defending champ Jordan Spieth will be careful not to fall into the trap of always flooring the accelerated. “I understand you can shoot low scores,� Spieth said, “but over the course of four rounds, you’ve got to just wait and let the golf course give you what it does.� Added Justin Thomas: “It’s still golf. Whether it’s even par or 12 under or 25 under, you’re just trying to shoot as low as you can. It definitely is different, and a little less exhausting at the end of the day.� Plus, it’s just nice to look at some red numbers on the scorecards. Said McIlroy: “Obviously it makes you feel a bit better about yourself when you’re shooting some under-par scores.� THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER Brooks Koepka Becomes the first U.S. Open champ since Justin Rose in 2013 to play the following week immediately after winning. Jordan Spieth Turned around his season a year ago by winning at TPC River Highlands. Could use a similar boost this year. Bubba Watson Only four-time winner Billy Casper has won this event more than twice. Bubba could notch his third this week. THE FLYOVER Of the 50 closing holes last season, the 444-yard par-4 18th at TPC River Highlands ranked 19th in difficulty, playing to a stroke average of 4.107. Obviously, it can produce some drama – witness Jordan Spieth’s hole-out from the front greenside bunker to beat Daniel Berger in a playoff last year. And don’t forget the plaque as you walk back toward the clubhouse that celebrates Jim Furyk’s historic 58 two years ago. LANDING ZONE Say hello to one of the PGA TOUR’s shortest par 4s, the 296-yard 15th hole. Only the 288-yard 16th at Sheshan International is shorter. At this length, there’s not much decision on whether to go for the green – 95.3 percent of all tee shots at 15th qualified for the definition of going for it. Still, there is water to the left and bunkers to the right, and nearly as many double bogeys (7) were made last year as eagles (9). Here’s a look at where all tee shots landed last year at the 15th WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Wade Stettner: “There will be a chance of rain showers Thursday morning before 8 a.m. with just a slight chance of a passing shower or two Thursday afternoon. Thursday’s high is forecast in the middle 80s with winds switching back to the north at 6-12 mph. Dry weather is forecast on Friday with light south winds and a high in the upper 70s. A low pressure system will arrive this weekend with rain chances increasing on Saturday. There is a slight chance for a few passing showers lingering into Sunday.� For the latest weather news from Cromwell, Connecticut, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK There are tournaments on the PGA TOUR that could be great fits for me, and this is one of those. I just regret I hadn’t been playing here my entire PGA TOUR career. BY THE NUMBERS 63 – Opening round score by Jordan Spieth last year. That’s his lowest first-round score in 143 career starts. 0 – Numbers of weekend rounds that two-time champ Bubba Watson has shot over par (in other words … none). Of his 40 career rounds at the Travelers, 35 have been played at par or better. 4 – Players with multiple runner-up finishes this season without a win – Marc Leishman (2012 Travelers champ), Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau and Chez Reavie. SCATTERSHOTS A year ago in his first Travelers start, Rory McIlroy was experimenting with putters. “I think I turned up on Saturday morning with about 10,� he recalled. Eventually, he used three different putters over the four-round event. Don’t expect a repeat this year – thanks in part to his work with New Englander Brad Faxon. “My putting has been probably as good as it ever has in terms of strokes gained,� McIlroy said. (He currently ranks 55th after ranking 140th after last season). “I feel comfortable with that part of my game.� Doug Ghim and Nick Hardy are making their pro debuts this week, while Dylan Meyer is making his second start after finishing T-63 in his pro debut at last week’s U.S. Open. “It’s a cool tournament,� noted Justin Thomas. “This, along with the John Deere, I think both of them have great reputations of giving young guys an opportunity to start their career.� Two-time winner Bubba Watson is making his 12th career start at the Travelers. No one consistently plays TPC River Highlands better than Watson. He’s a cumulative 94 under since 2006, best in that span. He’s made 181 total birdies since 2008, most in that span. And his scoring average of 67.65 is second only to Paul Casey’s 67.25 (minimum 12 rounds).

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PARAMUS, N.J. – Bryson DeChambeau takes a four-shot lead into the final round, then keeps his nerve for a 2-under 69 and a four-shot victory at THE NORTHERN TRUST at Ridgewood Country Club. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where DeChambeau picked up his third PGA TOUR victory and second this season, this one kicking him into first in the FedExCup. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Seeing is believing for DeChambeau. Bryson DeChambeau sat down before the press, the tournament and FedExCup trophies in front of him, and was asked what he likes most about his work. “It’s being able to step up to a shot like I did on 17 today, knowing it’s a difficult tee shot, and executing it exactly the way I wanted to,â€� said DeChambeau, who was T27 in driving accuracy. “That’s what brings me joy and that’s why I work so hard, and all this other stuff is fantastic and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but the No. 1 thing that makes me happy is seeing a golf ball go exactly the way I felt it should go.â€� DeChambeau is a true original, but his work habits are reminiscent of Vijay Singh. What did DeChambeau do after his third-round 63 had staked him to a four-shot lead on Saturday night? The same thing he always does: He hit balls, closing down the range. Told that some guys wouldn’t have camped out for so long after such a round, he was quick with a response. “Well, it’s not a 54—it’s not birdieing every hole,â€� he said. He and his caddie have an inside joke that they repeat to one another when they find themselves logging the long hours on the range or practice green: Just another day at the office. “You could say what I do is crazy,â€� DeChambeau said, “but in the end, I’m the one with the trophy this week.â€� 2. Finau is a phenomenon. Hard to believe Tony Finau doesn’t have a win this year, given his consistency. The long-hitting Utah pro finished second to move from 12th to 4th in the FedExCup, the highest position among players without a win this season. He has nine top-10 finishes and 16 top-25 finishes in 25 starts so far this season. How’s that for week-in, week-out excellence? Finau played three of the four days alongside Phil Mickelson, and more than held his own as he collected his third runner-up finish on TOUR. If he can remain in the top five in the FedExCup going into the TOUR Championship, he will control his own destiny. “Yeah, great position to be in and that’s where I want to be,â€� said Finau, who qualified for his first TOUR Championship last season, when he ultimately finished 19th in the FedExCup. “When I do win, hopefully it means a lot and maybe even a FedExCup. … Bryson was extremely tough to catch. He didn’t really open a window for us.â€� 3. FedExCup movers were everywhere. Give credit to Danny Lee, who entered the week at 103rd in the FedExCup standings but birdied five straight holes (Nos. 10-14) on the way to a 4-under 67 that gave him a T34 finish and gave him just the boost he needed to 98th. That means he’s on to the next stop in the Playoffs, the top-100 Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston, starting Friday. It was a similar story for Nick Watney, who was making his 350th TOUR start and finished T11 to move from 102nd to 67th in the standings and on to Boston. The biggest leap was by Ryan Palmer, who was the Bubble Boy at No. 100 in the standings but carded a timely 65 in the final round to finish T5 and move up to 50th in the standings. That should get him not only to Boston but all the way to the BMW Championship in Philadelphia. “It’s huge,â€� Palmer said. 4. Woods not discouraged. Tiger Woods was coming off a runner-up finish at the PGA Championship two weeks prior, so his T40 at THE NORTHERN TRUST was slightly underwhelming. He never really made much happen at Ridgewood, where his putter remained cold all week, but now he heads to TPC Boston and the site of his win in 2006 and runner-up finishes in ’04 and ’07. “Well, welcome to golf,â€� Woods said of his suddenly dry birdie well. “I’m sure you guys are used to seeing me win five times a year or more. It’s not that easy to win out here. That’s what you’re seeing is that I’m close and just one shot here, one shot there, per day, flips momentum. “That’s what either I had been missing or I had gotten and I would lose it,â€� he added. “It’s just looking for one shot a day here and there, and you just never know when that shot may come, early in the front nine, late in the back nine, but it’s not that far.â€� 5. Mickelson taking nothing for granted. New York favorite Phil Mickelson (71, T15) got off to a good start at THE NORTHERN TRUST, his pair of 68s getting him at least within shouting distance of the lead. Alas, a third 68 didn’t do him much good, though, as DeChambeau began to run away, and Mickelson, 48, struggled in hitting just 5 of 14 fairways during an even-par final round Sunday. Now he heads to TPC Boston, where he won in 2007, for the Dell Technologies Championship. “I’m going to go down to Boston and build on that and get myself in contention,â€� he said. “I’ve played well there, I’ve won there, and my game’s comin’ around, and I’m gonna put it together.â€� Mickelson is 10th in the FedExCup, and while he’s won in Boston, and at East Lake, he’s never won the whole thing. Also on his mind: He has played on every Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup team since 1994, and is hoping to keep that streak going at the Ryder Cup in the fall. “I’m still fighting hard to get on that team,â€� he said. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. DeChambeau came into the week T67 in Strokes Gained: Putting, but was fifth in that statistic at Ridgewood; T116 in one-putt percentage, but was T12 at Ridgewood; T93 at putting inside 10 feet, but was T1 at Ridgewood; and 145th at putting from 4-8 feet, but was fifth at Ridgewood. All told, he made 65 of 68 putts from inside 10 feet. 2. Finau (68, solo second), the winner of the 2016 Puerto Rico Open led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (+12.562) and Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (+7.8) in collecting the third runner-up finish of his career (2017 Safeway Open, 2018 Genesis Open). 3. Billy Horschel (68, T3) played his final 46 holes without a bogey and led the field in scrambling (14 of 17). He moves to 14th in the FedExCup as he tries to join Woods as the only player to win the FedExCup more than once. 4. Cameron Smith (69, T3) notched his fifth top-five finish this season and moved from 53rd all the way to 16th in the FedExCup. He had shot under par only four times in his last 20 rounds coming into THE NORTHERN TRUST, but shot in red numbers all four rounds at Ridgewood. 5. Adam Scott (69, T5), who came into the field outside the top 150 in Strokes Gained: Putting, led the field (+8.464) in that stat at Ridgewood. He made nearly 368 feet of putts, and all told it was his best performance on the greens since winning the 2004 Booz Allen Classic.

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