Scheffler Shoots 60, Leads by Two at Travelers Championship

Scheffler currently leads the season-long FedEx Cup point standings, but only has one win as the season passes the halfway point. Much of that can be attributed to slow starts, as he ranks in the top three of scoring average in rounds 2-4, but just 57^th in first-round scoring.

But through two rounds at TPC Highlands, Scheffler sits atop the leaderboard at 16 under, taking a two-stroke lead into the weekend.

“At the very least, I’m not going to be in some of the positions I’ve put myself in this year, being eight, 10 shots back as the weekend starts,” Scheffler said.

Scheffler was not the only player to fire a low round Thursday, with Viktor Hovland following close behind at 14 under.

Hovland, fresh off a missed cut at the U.S. Open, fired a bogey-free 61 in his second round to tie his career-low score on the PGA Tour. After losing over a stroke to the field at Shinnecock Hills, he ranked second in the field with 1.883 strokes gained off the tee. 

“I’ve obviously been working a lot on my swing to try to get back technically to where I can, you know, not think about the swing as much and just step over the ball and expect to see a certain shot shape,” Hovland said. “I feel like I’ve gotten a lot closer to that in even recent weeks.”

Once known as one of the best drivers on Tour, Hovland entered the Travelers Championship ranked 104^th in strokes gained off the tee. After seeing improvements over the past two weeks, he feels he can start to trust his swing again and hit better shots.

“The good shots are really good,” he said. “It’s just the bad ones have been punishing me a lot. I feel like what my feel was in my swing and what I’ve been working on is starting to kind of get the shot dispersion a little bit tighter.”

With his last PGA Tour win coming at the 2025 Valspar Championship, Hovland will have his work cut out for him this weekend to chase down a surging Scheffler.

“He’s the best player in the world, and you know he’s not going to give anything up,” Hovland said. “It’s just kind of excitement, to be honest, to have a chance to go up against a guy that’s playing some amazing golf, and should be a really fun weekend.”