Swing Hacks

CROMWELL, Conn. — Rory McIlroy doesn’t consider his performance in Thursday’s opening round of the Travelers Championship much different than the one on display a week ago. The contrast in results, though, were fairly extreme. “A 16-shot difference,â€� McIlroy noted. Indeed, his opening 6-under 64 at TPC River Highlands was a welcomed sight after his 10-over 80 in the opening round of the U.S. Open. World No. 7 McIlroy wasn’t the only top-10 player who wiped away a nightmare result at Shinnecock Hills with a much more fruitful score a week later. No. 5 Jordan Spieth opened the defense of his Travelers title with a 7-under 63 in the afternoon that vaulted him into a share of the lead with morning finisher Zach Johnson. A week ago, Spieth opened with a 78 and, like McIlroy, ultimately missed the cut. Meanwhile, No. 9 Jason Day bounced back from his opening 79 at Shinnecock Hills with a solid 66 that left him in a 14-way tie for ninth. The 63 for Spieth is nothing new for him at TPC River Highlands — it’s the same score he shot in last year’s opening round en route to winning in his first Travelers start. It’s also his lowest score since a year ago, and a much-needed boost in a season of sputtering starts. Spieth’s first-round scoring average this season is 71.79, which ranks him tied for 155th on the PGA TOUR. “The first rounds have been kind of detrimental to me,â€� Spieth said, “so it’s nice to be in the thick of things.â€� Like he did in the playoff against Daniel Berger last year, Spieth holed out from a greenside bunker. This time, it was at the par-5 sixth for eagle, to go along with his six birdies. But more than the fireworks, Thursday’s round saw Spieth play as solid as he’s done all year. He called it his “third-bestâ€� round of the year after his first (66) and fourth (64) rounds at the Masters. Even more to the point, he was pleased with his management of the round. He didn’t try to force the issue on a course than can be very tempting to attack. “This golf course, I played it really smart today. It was probably the smartest round I’ve played this year, really the last couple years,â€� Spieth said. “I just didn’t feel great coming off the range. I’ve been working on some things on the swing, just decided to play toward the center of the greens and let the putter do the work because it’s starting to come around.â€� Indeed, he feels good about his entire game, talking about the need to simply trust the process of getting back to the kind of performances golf fans are used to seeing from Spieth. “My game’s in a good place, scores aren’t reflecting it,â€� Spieth said. “As long as I don’t beat myself up over that and just stick to the process, then — it’s certainly a testing year for me, and it’s a building year. It’s one where I can actually come out stronger. I’ve kind of looked at it that way the last couple months.â€� As for McIlroy, he said missing the cut at Shinnecock Hills allowed him to put in some very productive weekend week, and he carried that over to his practice sessions this week at the Travelers. The result was a bogey-free round for the first 17 holes. The only reason he doesn’t have a share of the lead is a closing bogey in which he failed to find the green with his approach. “I feel like the work that I did over the weekend sort of started to pay off already,â€� said McIlroy, who has a win, two other top-10s and three missed cuts in a rollercoaster last few months. “It was nice to see the shots I was playing right there. Being able to work the ball both ways was something I wasn’t quite as comfortable doing last week. “Obviously, you never want to miss a cut in a major, but it might have been a blessing in disguise for the rest of the year.â€� The blessing in disguise, perhaps, would be simply coming to a course that allows players to flex their scoring muscles.

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Kevin Tway, Jamie Lovemark, Vaughn Taylor and Sean O’Hair share the lead after the first round of THE NORTHERN TRUST with matching 66’s at Ridgewood Country Club.  Among those one shot back are FedExCup Playoffs points leader Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama and Tommy Fleetwood. Tiger Woods stalled with an even-par 71 and sits T60 heading into Friday. PGA TOUR LIVE also can be viewed on Facebook Watch. Facebook Watch will offer weekend coverage from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Here’s everything you need to know for Round 2: Round 2 leaderboard Round 2 tee times HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN (ALL TIMES ET) PGA TOUR LIVE: 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. TELEVISION: 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Golf Channel) RADIO: 12 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (PGA TOUR RADIO on Sirius XM or at PGATOUR.COM) NOTABLE GROUPINGS 7:54 a.m.: Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Tony Finau off No. 10 8:05 a.m.: Jason Day, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson off No. 10 12:00 p.m.: Jamie Lovemark, Kevin Tway, Ollie Schniederjans off No. 10 12:55 p.m.: Tiger Woods, Marc Leishman, Tommy Fleetwood 1:06 p.m.: Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka MUST-READS Johnson not giving up No. 1 without fight 4-way tie for lead at THE NORTHERN TRUST as Woods stalls FedExCup update: Fleetwood’s Playoffs debut Snedeker WDs from THE NORTHERN TRUST with back spasms

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