Keegan Bradley shot an 8-under par 62 to take a two-shot lead after the morning rounds Thursday at the Travelers Championship.
Shane Lowry and Chez Reavie each finished with bogey-free 64s, one shot better than a group of five golfers including Kevin Streelman and Patrick Cantlay.
Bradley got things started early, with birdies on his first five holes. That included sinking a 75-foot downhill putt from just off the green on the 17th hole, which kept gaining speed, but hit the flag and dropped straight down.
The TPC River Highlands course is known for giving up low scores, including the record 58 shot by Jim Furyk during the final round of the 2016 tournament.
Bradley, a 37-year-old Vermont native, said he could not help but think about matching that.
“When I made that really long putt on 17, and it could have gone in the water, I don't know, it crossed my mind,” he said. “I wasn't thinking about it a lot, but I certainly was going to try and do it.”
Wyndham Clark, fresh off his U.S. Open win, finished the day at 2-under 68.
The 29-year-old Denver native, who earned his first PGA Tour victory just last month at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, said he got emotional after being introduced on the first tee as the U.S. Open champion.
“It kind of caught me off guard a little bit,” he said. “I actually got a little nervous. But then I hit a great shot and I hit it farther than I think I would have, just because of the nerves.”
Clark also hit a spectator in the head after slicing his tee shot on the par-3 fifth hole, but he hit his next shot on the green and made a 16-foot putt to save par.
The Travelers Championship was elevated this year to one of 17 so-called “designated” PGA Tour events, with the total purse raised from $8.3 to $20 million.
The top PGA Tour players are required to play in 16 of the 17 designated events, prompting many to make the trip across the country from last week's U.S. Open in California.