CROMWELL (Connecticut): Brendon Todd and Dustin Johnson each shot career-low nine-under 61s at the Travelers Championship on Saturday, leaving Todd with a two-stroke lead over the 2016 US Open champion.

The 34-year-old American, playing a couple holes behind Johnson, had a chance at the tournament’s second 60 of the week but missed a 10-foot putt to the left on the 18th hole.

His error-free round positioned him at 18-under 192 after opening rounds of 66 and 65 as he continues his quest for his third win this season and fourth overall. Johnson, who is looking for his 21st win on tour, also has improved each day, opening with a 69-64.

Todd has found his game at TPC River Highlands after missing the cut in his previous two starts on the PGA Tour, which resumed earlier this month following a three-month layoff due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Whenever I get a two or three-week stretch in a row, I tend to be playing better by the end of it,” he told reporters.

Todd had started the day four strokes off the pace, but marched up the leaderboard with a flurry of five birdies over the front nine.

A red-hot putter ignited Todd’s round from the first hole, delivering an opening birdie after making a tricky 13-footer.

Todd then made birdie putts of 25ft, 17ft and 10ft before rolling in a six-footer at the turn to move to five under for the day.

Four more birdies over the back nine left him at 18 under two clear of former world number one Johnson, who also posted nine birdies and no bogeys.

American Kevin Streelman is three off the lead at 15-under after carding a 63 on Saturday and Canadian Mackenzie Hughes is four back after firing a third-round 68 to sit 14-under after 54 holes.

Bryson DeChambeau and Kevin Na each shot 65 and were tied for fifth at 197.

Phil Mickelson, who celebrated his 50th birthday on June 16, began the day with a one-stroke lead but struggled, finishing tied for seventh in a group six shots back.

World number one Rory McIlroy endured a frustrating round however, closing with two bogeys over the final four holes to finish with a one-under-par 69. That left McIlroy on 10 under for the tournament, eight shots adrift of leader Todd.

Elsewhere on Saturday, the spectre of coronavirus continued to hover over the tournament as Jason Day played a solo round.

Day had teed off alone after requesting a Covid-19 test as a precautionary measure. The Aussie was later confirmed to be negative for the disease, which had already forced the withdrawal of several players from the tournament.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2020