Round 1 Recap

HARTFORD, Conn., August 5, 2016 – Three players shot 6-under-par 64 at TPC River Highlands on Thursday to share the first-round lead at the Travelers Championship. Vaughn Taylor, Andrew Loupe, and Jerry Kelly paced the 156-player field, one shot lower than Ben Martin, Jon Rahm, and Marc Leishman.

First-round tee times were delayed 15 minutes due to early-morning fog at TPC River Highlands. Once the fog cleared and play began, low scores ruled the day, with 72 players completing 18 holes under par. Two-time Travelers Championship winner Bubba Watson was one of them, shooting a 67 as he attempts to become just the second player in tournament history to win in consecutive years; Phil Mickelson captured the Travelers Championship in 2001 and 2002.

The most recent hole-in-one on the fifth hole during the Travelers Championship had been 2011. Until Thursday, that is. Si Woo Kim knocked a 4-iron into the hole, which measured 223 yards for the first round, part of an opening 69 in his Travelers Championship debut.

A sold-out crowd participated in Women’s Day on Thursday, with hundreds of the area’s top female business leaders listening to NBC news correspondent Cynthia McFadden and watching a cooking demonstration by celebrity chef Ming Tsai. Heidi Voight of NBC Connecticut hosted Women’s Day, which also included a tour of the Golf Channel studio and golf clinics.

Other Thursday events were a reception by the Hartford Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs (HYPE), and the first of two Powerstation Events concerts at the MetroHartford Alliance Fan Zone, by the country duo Big & Rich. The Gin Blossoms will perform on Saturday night.

In addition to the second competition round, Friday’s schedule will have the Bruce Edwards Foundation Benefit Dinner at the Connecticut Convention Center. Hosted by World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Watson, best-selling sports author John Feinstein, and Travelers Executive Chairman of the Board Jay Fishman, the dinner will raise more than $1 million for the Bruce Edwards Foundation, named for the Connecticut native and former PGA TOUR caddy who died from ALS in 2004.

Thanks to the Hartford Courant, spectators will be admitted free to TPC River Highlands starting at noon on Friday, and extending through the conclusion of Friday’s play.