Travelers Championship 2023 standings, scores: Keegan Bradley, Denny McCarthy share weekend lead
A fan favorite and a player looking for a breakout win headed into the weekend sharing the lead with some stars in the rearview mirror. Sound familiar? No, not Rickie Fowler or Wyndham Clark in command at the 2023 Travelers Championship. Instead, it was Denny McCarthy, who followed nearly 59 on Thursday with a 5 under 65 on Friday to come in at 15 less than half way through this week, sitting atop the leaderboard with the New native England Keegan Bradley.
The 30-year-old made it to the under-15 for the first time, but it was Bradley who was the crowd’s first choice out of the final 36. McCarthy’s rise to prominence on the PGA Tour has been gradual, but this year’s rise can be credited to his improvement in the batting department. This represents a stark contrast to Bradley, a man who won his first major title on his debut and demonstrated his batting ability to claim five Tour wins.
Widely known as the best hitter in the game, McCarthy has worked hard on his long run in recent years and it is starting to show. Hitting 30 greens and 21 fairways over 36 holes, the 33rd player in the world ranks second in terms of shots to green along with topping the course with a putter in hand.
While the latter is the norm for McCarthy, the first will have to put him in the winner’s circle. He’ll need it consistently in the second half of the Travelers’ Championship with five of the world’s top six players in the big distance. Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland and defending champion Xander Schauffele are in the top 10 with eight points below, while world number one Scottie Scheffeler and fellow American Patrick Cantlay are one point behind with seven points below.
Leaders
1. Denny McCarthy, Keegan Bradley (-15)
He’s only half as good on Friday as he is on Thursday, but it’s all relative. The opening 60 was followed by an impressive 65, and now McCarthy comes into the weekend with a two-stroke lead. The UVa product is just a few starters dropped after a painful near fall during a Memorial Tournament knockout against Hovland and will look to make good use of the experience.
“That would be great [to join 18 first-time winners at the Travelers]”, McCarthy said. “I don’t know that. It’s not something I really think about. I don’t — I don’t want to look too far ahead. I played some great golf when I came here. Just keep trying to get better every day. There are still some things – I’ll go to the scope. There are still some things I think I can improve on over the weekend. So I’m going to go out, like I said, and enjoy the challenge and try to have as much fun as I can.”
other candidates
3. Chez Reavie (-13)
4. Eric Cole (-11)
T5. Zac Blair, Adam Scott (-10)
T7. Chesson Hadley, Lucas Herbert, Min Woo Lee (-9)
T10. Greyson Sigg, Kevin Yu, Brian Harman, Viktor Hovland, Sungjae Im, Corey Conners, Ludvig Aberg, Austin Eckroat, Emiliano Grillo, Xander Schauffele, Alex Smalley (-8)
For the fourth consecutive week at the golf tournament, McIlroy was once again at his best. The 34-year-old is four strokes behind on the eighth hole than he was on Thursday, but apart from the water polo and then the par 3 double, he played flawlessly. He turned 30 and scored a total of eight birdies in the second round thanks to a strong effort from the wand. More than 120 feet of putt made and 64 shots later, and the Northern Irishman will be right there heading into the weekend.
“I think when you can go out in the morning here, the greens are so much better,” says McIlroy. “They haven’t started planting yet and they’re not as bumpy as the afternoon. So feel like you can — there’s a lot of 20-foot people in the afternoon and you’re just trying to finish the pit because you don’t want three- and four-legged guys on the way home You could be a little more aggressive with your putts and that worked for me this morning and kept quite a bit. a little bit better today. I played more solidly, gave myself more chances, you know, I eliminated most of the mistakes I made yesterday.”
Justin Thomas has… come back?
It’s been a bad 2023 for the 15-time PGA Tour champion, but Thomas’ second round could be the springboard he needs for the final stretch of the season. After signing an even 70 in Round 1, the 30-year-old scored nine birdies against three bogeys to put himself in the red. Thomas hasn’t competed on Sunday since the 2022 Canadian Open and still needs a Big Move Day if he wants to break such a record. However, after round two of 81 at the US Open, Thomas looked much more normal and had his best day from tee to green (4.21 strokes) since the final round of the WM Phoenix Open in February. .
Big names send packages early
The line cut for most of the afternoon but eventually settled at the lower 4. Several notable players have seen their names on the left side of the number, including four of the top 20 players in the world. World No 2 Jon Rahm missed his first cut in 36 attempts (!!!) not counting his withdrawal from this year’s Players Championship. The Spaniard’s last miss was at the 2021 Fortinet Championship a week before the Ryder Cup, and he came back quite well at Whistling Straits.
A hot Tommy Fleetwood who joined his European Ryder Cup teammates left Connecticut early. Max Homa missed the weekend by just one hit, as did his Cal Bear teammate Collin Morikawa, whose 63 drug-free in the second round was excellent but not enough to make up for the opening point. 74.
Travelers Championship 2023 Odds and Picks Update
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
- Denny McCarthy: 5/12
- Keegan Bradley: 5/2
- Chez Reavie: 17/2
- Eric Cole: 20-1
- Rory McIlroy: 20-1
- Scottie Scheffler: 22-1
- Adam Scott: 25-1
- Xander Schauffele: 25-1
- Viktor Hovland: 28-1
- Patrick Cantlay: 35-1
- Min Woo Lee: 40-1
It looks like a two-man race through 36 holes, but there are some riders that can scare off the leader duo. It may give McCarthy a déjà vu feel, but Hovland with a 28-1 scoreline just seven back is a leading contender to make a big run at the weekend. The Norwegian does not lack confidence and has only had a B match so far. If that B turns into A, Hovland’s game is perfectly suited for sprinting to the finish line.
