After denying that TPC River Highlands is too easy, Scottie Scheffler was on pace for a round of 59 there on Thursday in the opening round of the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut.
Instead, the World No. 1 and defending champion carded an 8-under-par 62, tying Austin Eckroat for the 18-hole lead.
At the $20 million signature event, the last of the regular season, Scheffler and Eckroat are two shots ahead of Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, Wyndham Clark and 2023 Travelers champion Keegan Bradley (6-under 64).
Scheffler was 9 under par through 15 holes at the par-70 course but settled for par at No. 16 and made his only bogey of the day at No. 17 after overshooting the green.
Scheffler, who shot 59 once before in his PGA Tour career (2020 Northern Trust), said the potential milestone didn't enter his mind.
"When I came out to do my warmup, it was still pretty calm. By the time I got to the first tee, it was blowing 20 miles an hour, and it was sustained at that for most of our round," Scheffler said of the conditions. "It maybe went down to 10, to 12 and then it would gust to 30. It was pretty challenging out there."
The low round came one day after Scheffler said he didn't believe TPC River Highlands was too easy for tour professionals. The winning scores the past two years have been 23 and 22 under par.
"I've always had a preference for the tougher tests that we have," he added Thursday. "That's always been my preference since I was a young kid. I like the challenge of playing difficult golf courses, and I like the challenge of playing against really good fields, as well."
Earlier in the day, Eckroat put up a bogey-free 62 highlighted by an eagle-birdie-birdie stretch at Nos. 13-15. The eagle came on a 35 1/2-foot putt.
The 26-year-old won twice on tour last year but is struggling this season, as he ranks outside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup race.
"It's funny, a lot of Wednesdays I've felt really good going into the tournament, and then Thursday comes around and it hasn't been there," Eckroat said. "I don't know if it's just the stress of playing in a PGA Tour event, but this one, it was nice to feel good on Wednesday and then actually take it into Thursday."
'CAPTAIN AMERICA' CHANTS
McIlroy continued his upward trajectory after missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open and tying for 19th at the US Open. He made three birdies on each nine while keeping a bogey-free card.
McIlroy played alongside Bradley, the US captain for the upcoming Ryder Cup.
"There was definitely a lot more ‘Captain America' and ‘USA' chants out there, which is cool," the European star said. "It's cool for Keegan to be here, be the US Ryder Cup captain and obviously get all that support."
Cameron Young is alone in sixth at 5-under 65, and a large tie at 4-under 66 included Norway's Viktor Hovland, England's Tommy Fleetwood and Australia's Jason Day.
JJ Spaun, playing alongside Scheffler after winning his first major title at the US Open on Sunday, struggled to a 3-over 73. There is no 36-hole cut at the tournament.
Jordan Spieth withdrew due to a neck/upper back injury that began to bother him on the practice range. Spieth said it was the first time he'd ever dropped out of a tournament early, on the PGA Tour or otherwise.
"I've never withdrawn from an event ever, anywhere, at any level, so I didn't really know what to do," said Spieth, who was 5 over through 12 holes. "It just became too much. I didn't see it turning around until probably Saturday. These things kind of last an extra day, and no matter what I was going to do, it was just going to be – I don't know, it's unfortunate. I've been doing everything right, and I think it was just very random."