Unfortunate News on Multiple Golfers Announced During Final Round at Travelers Championship

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dibyendu Mondal | Last updated Jun 22, 2025 3:46 PM ET

The Travelers Championship teed off for its final round on Sunday, and both Keegan Bradley and Tommy Fleetwood were dueling on the course for their share of the $20 million purse. But Sunday also brought bad news for several PGA Tour players.

An unexpected wave of withdrawals hit the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands as several golfers were forced to call it quits due to illness or injury.

First, Eric Cole, sitting at 6‑under after three rounds, withdrew on Sunday morning due to an illness, removing himself from contention before the final round even began. Cole had posted solid rounds of 68–67–69 and was tied for 14th before pulling out.

Matti Schmid quietly withdrew during Sunday’s final round. Schmid had been paired late in the day, scheduled for a 12:56 pm tee time, but failed to appear due to an illness.

The most dramatic exit came from Viktor Hovland, who pulled out just two holes into his final round.

Hovland played a par on the first and bogeyed the second before withdrawing after “feeling a crack” in his neck during his warm-up moments before the tee, leaving the fairway visibly distressed.

He later confirmed that the pain worsened quickly, making continuation impossible. Hovland, fresh off a third-place finish at last week’s U.S. Open, had shot a remarkable 63 on Saturday to enter the last day in strong form.

Things are heating up at the top of the leaderboard

Keegan Bradley trails Tommy Fleetwood by two after two @TravelersChamp.

Golf Channel pic.twitter.com/gNONGr7QFI
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 22, 2025

This marks at least the fourth withdrawal at this week’s event: earlier exits included Jordan Spieth (shoulder) and Si Woo Kim (back). Prior to the tournament, Corey Conners and Brian Campbell had also withdrawn due to injuries.

Sunday’s spate of unfortunate departures dimmed what was shaping up to be an exciting conclusion to the PGA Tour’s final signature event of the year.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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