2024 Travelers Championship scores and results: Tom Kim leads Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler after Round 2
If you play well, why not keep playing? That’s the attitude Tom Kim has taken and it has proven effective through two rounds of the 2024 Travelers Championship as the 22-year-old sits at 13 under and ahead of Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler and Akshay Bhatia two points. Hitting the ground running for the eighth straight week, Kim will lead the way into the weekend at TPC River Highlands thanks to a new sharpness in his game that comes from his consistent reps.
“I think the big difference is that it’s sharper and I’m more aware now,” Kim said. “I think the work I’ve been doing the last few months is just kind of making sure that I can do it, so that I feel confident when I’m competing and not just practice rounds, right? So I think this period of time is making me sharper and more ready, and I think it’s time to show.”
Celebrating his birthday on Friday, the South Korean player fully demonstrated this newly discovered quality. Hitting 13 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens in regulation, Kim followed up with an opening 62 with a stress-free 65. While his putting shined on Thursday, his tee-to-green presence led the way on Friday and got great birdie conversions on Nos. 8-10 to propel his name. It’s farther ahead.
Extending his overnight lead to six strokes at one stage in the second round, Kim saw those behind him draw closer as they moved through the TPC River Highlands. Morikawa was the first to challenge as the two-time major champion converted a 6-under 29 before adding a birdie on the back nine for a 63.
Bhatia had been eyeing one better than a birdie on the tricky par-4 17th, but a drop shot from the middle of the fairway on the final hole meant Kim would trail into second place with two rounds remaining again. Joining Bhatia and Morikawa at No. 11 as the sun set was Scheffler who made a birdie conversion from just inside eight feet in the final minute, giving him a 64 and putting him in position. Favorable to chase for 6th place of the season.
“I’m playing really well and I know what I’m doing on the golf course, so just really executing my game plan, that’s exactly how I’m doing it and a score is a score,” Kim said . “I played really, really solid and I’ve said in the last few minutes that it’s not about this week but about continuing to build on this momentum for the rest of the season.”
Leader
1. Tom Kim (-13): A birdie on the par-4 10th hole saw Kim clear the field by six, but it was his final birdie of his second round that some could have moved closer. His only missed fairway on the par-5 13th resulted in a par and a botched up-and-down from an ideal position on the par-4 15th resulted in another fairway. He’s perfect so far with 13 birdies and 23 pars in his first 36 holes, and Kim is first in strokes reached off the tee to the green and first in strokes gained. He has a great chance to take fourth place this weekend at the seasoned age of 22.
Other candidates
T2. Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler Akshay Bhatia (-11)
4. Xander Schauffele (-10)
T6. Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry, Sungjae Im (-9)
T9. Tony Finau, Robert MacIntyre, Tom Hoge (-8)
Morikawa has impressed since the Masters with four top-four finishes in seven individual starts. Despite finding his name on the first page of the leaderboard over the weekend, the American is yet to cross the finish line with his latest result being a runner-up finish to Scheffler at the Memorial.
He has been excellent this week, but if Morikawa hopes to keep up with Kim, his iron game may need to improve. Of his seven birdies on Friday, five came from outside 10 feet. While he is ranked high on greens in regulation, Morikawa finds himself in the middle of the pack in strokes gained at 36.
“Right now, it’s all a matter of mentality,” Morikawa said. “It’s not — I can’t be lazy for the next two days. The scores will continue to get lower, will probably double from what they are now and the most important thing for me is if I want to stay in the competition.” Handicap is just about not letting my mind wander. It’s a long, hot road, but I want to win and I’ll stay as sharp as possible.
Milestone of severing implementation
Even though the field isn’t trimmed at the halfway mark, players will still get a clean break from competing at the Travelers. While it may not mean much to much of the field, it does for Xander Schauffele, who has now made 50 consecutive cuts since the 2022 Masters. As he reaches 50, Schauffele surpasses Steve Stricker (2009-12) for the longest winning streak since Tiger Woods’ record of 142 from 1998 to 2005. PGA Championship champion only one there are 92 more cuts to catch the cat.
“Golf, it’s not just one thing,” Schauffele said. “You’ve got to have a good headspace. Luckily, I’ve got a really good team around me. You’ve got to do things pretty well. I think it’s about picking up some of the gaps in some areas.” certain things in my game that helped me compete.” week after week and also helped me gain a little more confidence.”
Odds and picks updated at the 2024 Travelers Championship
via Sportsline consensus
- Scottie Scheffler: 2-1
- Tom Kim: 4-1
- Collin Morikawa: 9/2
- Xander Schauffele: 6-1
- Akshay Bhatia: 10-1
- Justin Thomas: 22-1
- Shane Lowry: 30-1
- Sungjae Im: 35-1
So far, Kim has been great and while I think he wins in the end, I don’t love him at his expense. Instead, we’ll look at Im, who’s just sitting behind the four people. Kim’s compatriot ranked third in strokes approached and sixth in contestability over two rounds. I’ll need to start finding the short grass off the tee with a little more consistency, but if anything, he’ll get there late on Sunday.
