CROMWELL, Conn. — Early on Friday afternoon, it appeared golf fans were going to be treated to a weekend shootout at the 2022 Travelers Championship between Rory McIlroy, the second-ranked player in the world, and Xander Schauffele, the Olympic gold medalist from last summer.
As McIlroy stepped to the 12th tee at TPC River Highlands, he led the tournament at 13 under, having just made his sixth birdie of the day by drilling a wedge down the hill on the 166-yard par 3 to 11th hole to inside 3 feet. Schauffele had birdied it too and was at 12 under.
Then the whole tournament changed. As Schauffele waited for the fairway to clear on the par-5 13th hole, McIlroy butchered the 12th, sending this tee shot on the par 4 left, and out of bounds, before hitting his second tee ball onto the hillside on the right. His approach shot went into a back-left bunker, and he popped the ball across and through the green. His sixth shot hung up on the collar of the green, forcing him to hit a chip and then a putt for an eight that dropped him from 13 under to 9 under in one hole.
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Earlier in the day, Patrick Cantlay, the 2021 FedEx Cup champion, shot 67 to reach 9 under, a figure that was also reached by defending champion Harris English (65), Nick Hardy (64), Cameron Davis (66) and Kevin Kisner (64).
McIlroy wound up shooting an even-par 70 that included that quadruple-bogey eight on the 12th hole and a double-bogey on the par-4 15th. He will start the weekend tied for seventh at 8 under.
Here are five things we learned Friday at the 2022 Travelers Championship.
Xander Schauffele aligns a shot from the fairway of the seventh hole during the second round of the 2022 Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports)
On Thursday, Xander Schauffele hit all 18 greens in regulation of the first round. It was the first time in a PGA Tour event he ever went 18-for-18, and he followed it up Friday by hitting 16-of-18. After two rounds, he leads the field in strokes gained approach the green at 5.453 for the tournament, a massive edge over the average player.
Asked if his plan coming into the week was to focus on hitting more greens in regulation or if his success is the result of better ballstriking, Schauffele said, “Probably a little bit of both. I think anytime you can hit a lot of greens at any tournament, it definitely makes it a little bit easier on yourself. I feel like Austin [Kaiser, Schauffele’s caddie] and I have just been a little bit more diligent and a little more deliberate with our task when we’re over the golf ball and picking numbers and picking sort of the right shot. So I think I’m very focused on that and not much else.”
Rory McIlroy plays his shot from the 12th tee during the second round of the 2022 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy made seven birdies at TPC River Highlands on Friday, but two holes, the 12th and the 15th, dragged his scorecard down by six shots.
Afterward, McIlroy said that the same club gave him trouble on those two holes.
“I had a four-hole stretch there on the back nine where I lost obviously two fairway, well. … three fairway wood shots are what cost me,” he said. “For whatever reason, I haven’t been comfortable with my fairway woods the last couple weeks. You know, I just hit three loose ones there, two on 12 and then the one on 15. That was really it. I played well the rest of the way.”
McIlroy will start the the third round six shots behind Schauffele, but knows there is time to make up ground and this is the perfect course to make a big weekend move.
“I know that there are so many birdies on the golf course for me,” he said. “It’s just a matter of not trying to force the issue, stay patient, and if I keep playing the golf I know I can play, I’ll hopefully get a little closer to that lead.”
Kevin Kisner putts on the ninth green during the second round of the 2022 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
While plenty of attention was being paid to Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy on Friday afternoon, one of the players in McIlroy’s group, Kevin Kisner, quietly moved up the leaderboard. After starting the day five shots off the lead at 3 under, he birdied Nos. 1, 6, 9, and 11 and then made eagle on the par-5 13th hole. A final birdie at 18 gave Kisner a 64 and left him tied for second at 9 under, five shots behind Schauffele.
“I am a really good putter, and good putters need to hit greens,” he said after signing his card. “So that’s all I try to shoot for. If I get the putter rolling and get going, I can shoot as low as anyone out here. Five shots is not insurmountable, but I’m going to need [Schauffele] to slow down a little bit.”
Harris English putts on the eighth green during the second round of the 2022 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Last year at the Travelers Championship, Harris English outlasted Kramer Hickok in an eight-hole playoff to win. After 36 holes this year, he’s tied for second thanks to fantastic putting.
For the week, English ranks 13th in strokes gained putting and has made over 252 feet of putts, which includes a 31-foot birdie on the third hole, a 20-foot birdie putt on six and another 20-footer on nine. Thursday he holed a 45-foot birdie putt on the fifth hole.
Harry Higgs plays his shot from the 12th tee during the second round of the 2022 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Harry Higgs was frustrated that putts didn’t drop for him Thursday when he shot 71, but Higgs was in a better mood after he made over 110 feet of putts Friday and shot 64. He will go into the weekend at 5 under (T-24). To celebrate, he and his brother Alex, who also caddies for Harry, planned to go to New Haven for pizza. Every year, golfers at this event make the 30-mile trek for Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria, which opened in 1925 and specializes in pizza in a thin-crust, coal-fired pie.
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