Tom Kim opened with a 62 on Thursday to take a two-shot lead in the Travelers Championship.
Kim, who turns 22 on Friday, wrapped up his bogey-free eight-under-par round at TPC River Highlands with back-to-back birdies.
“I hit fairways, I hit greens and made some putts. Nothing really severely different. Obviously, scoring-wise, just it’s getting sharper and sharper and I feel like I’ve been playing like this kind of the last few months, but to kind of keep it sharp and to keep maintaining, I feel like that’s why I’m on my eighth week, to kind of just keep it going. It is just kinds of nice to see those rounds come together and the next three days kind of keep that same game plan whether good score or not score. Just kind of keep it together and keep that sharpening.
“I felt like my game was there, but wasn’t really showing in tournaments. I kind of sat down and I’m like, you know what, it’s almost the last stretch of the season, and I want to really — I feel like I’m playing good, I just can’t, for some reason I can’t show it off in golf tournaments. I think that’s the reason why I’m playing a lot more than I normally ever would is because if you keep getting reps in in tournaments you kind of keep sharpening, sharpening, sharpening and that’s what’s happening. So it’s, I’m glad to kind of see it actually come out though.”
Rickie Fowler was among those two shots back, alongside fellow Americans Akshay Bhatia, Kurt Kitayama and Will Zalatoris.
World number one Scottie Scheffler, who also celebrates his birthday on Friday, was among those a further stroke adrift.
Scheffler, who has won five times this year, finished outside the top 10 at the US Open – only the second time he has dropped that low this season – but three birdies in his first four holes blew away any cobwebs with an eagle three on the 13th.
“Definitely feel like I’m swinging a lot better than I did last week,” said Scheffler on the eve of his 28th birthday. “It’s nice to get here on some familiar surfaces and hit some good putts and see some balls go in.”
Tommy Fleetwood also eagled the 13th as a strong finish lifted him into a large group on three-under-par, including Ireland’s Seamus Power and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg.
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