The Daily Wrap-up: Round 1, Travelers Championship
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) -- Kenny Perry shot a 61 to tie the course record and take a two-shot lead after the first round of the Travelers Championship on Thursday.
Perry, who has finished in the top 10 seven times at this tournament, shot a 29 on the front nine and had no bogeys. He flirted with a 59 before making par on the final two holes.
"I was looking for that magical number," Perry said. "I thought I could do it today. I was definitely trying to get it done."
More than 100 golfers shot under par, taking advantage of light winds and the soft greens left by the same rains that plagued the U.S. Open.
Charles Warren and Paul Goydos each shot 7-under par 63s to tie for second place. They also played bogey-free rounds. Goydos had birdies on three of his final four holes, while Warren putted for birdie 16 times.
"Whoever the superintendent is has done an unbelievable job getting the golf course ready given the amount of rain (they've) had," Warren said. "So, I think there will be low rounds all week ... I think 59 is a possibility."
Australian Greg Chalmers had eight birdies, six over his final eight holes, and finished tied at 6-under with Spencer Levin, Boo Weekley and Tag Ridings.
"Sometimes on this golf course, you get on a roll," Chalmers said.
Weekley started out on No. 10 and birdied his first six holes.
"I wish I could have kept the string going," he said. "We hit a lot of good putts out there and hit a lot of good shots. We just made two mistakes."
Ridings had the shot of the day, acing the par-3 11th hole. He used a 9-iron from 154 yards out to give the tournament its first hole-in-one since 2007, when Craig Perks and Bo Van Pelt accomplished the feat.
"There is not a bit of wind out there," Ridings said. "The greens are firmer than anticipated but they are still soft, so they're really just perfect scoring conditions."
U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover was among nine golfers tied at 5 under.
But the day belonged to Perry, who notched the only other 61 in his career at the 2003 Colonial.
On Thursday, he was 7 under after 10 holes, and said that's when he began to think about a sub-60 round, something that's been accomplished only three times on the U.S. PGA TOUR.
"I thought, with the eagle holes coming up ... I really felt I had a shot at it," he said.
Perry is making his 21st appearance at the tournament and is a fan favorite. Chants of "Let's go Kenny," greeted him on the back nine, and spectators erupted at the 15th hole when Perry made the 3-foot birdie putt that put him at 9-under par.
Perry is the fifth player to post a 61 at TPC River Highlands, joining Kirk Triplett (2000), Phil Mickelson (2001), Scott Verplank (2001) and Brad Faxon (2005) in the record book.
"It's definitely the best I've played since the Masters," said Perry, who finished second in Augusta in a playoff with champion Angel Cabrera and Chad Campbell. "My iron game has been off. My putting has been pitiful. And so, today, it kind of all came together."
| Other notables at the Travelers Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Thursday's Best |
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The par-4 15th hole was the easiest with a Thursday scoring average of 3.594.
The par-3 16th hole was the toughest with a Thursday scoring average of 3.123.
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Mathew Goggin chipped in for eagle on the par-5 13th hole. The Aussie went on to shoot a 5-under 65 in the first round. 
Perry, who didn't have any bogeys in the first round, was also 11th in driving distance and T13 in putts per round. INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Fred Albers offers these observations from Thursday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
Lucas Glover wanted to do a little ad-libing during his appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. While reading the "Top Ten" list, the U.S. Open champion had a few one-liners of his own to try out on the audience, but producers told Glover if he deviated from the script in the least they would stop taping and make him stick to the cue cards. Glover had written a few good-natured media jabs he wanted to deliver.
Charles Warren knew just what his game needed last week -- nothing. Instead of playing in the U.S. Open, Warren took the week off and touched his golf clubs just once, saying he needed mental and physical rest. The prescription worked. Warren shot 7-under 63 and is just two shots off the lead.
Boo Weekley birdied a third of the golf course in his first six holes. Starting on the 10th hole, Weekley birdied Nos. 10-15 to start his round at 6-under par. He could not sustain the momentum and shot even par over the remaining 12 holes for a 64, but it was a wickedly good start.
The media food tent is a popular hangout this week because of a constantly stocked freezer of ice cream. Not just any ice cream -- this is Ben and Jerry's. The freezer is filled and replenished daily with the northeastern treat. You can never go wrong with "Cherry Garcia."
| This week's Kodak Challenge hole | |
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| This week at the Kodak Challenge hole | ||||||||||||||||
| Round-by-round statistics on the par-5 15th at TPC River Highlands | ||||||||||||||||
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| Live Essentials | ||||
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