US teen amateur Patrick Cantlay fired a course-record 10-under par 60 to seize a four-stroke lead in the clubhouse midway into the second round of the PGA Travelers Championship.
|Last Updated: Jun 25, 2011, 03:17 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Cromwell: US teen amateur Patrick Cantlay fired a course-record 10-under par 60 to seize a four-stroke lead in the clubhouse midway into the second round of the PGA Travelers Championship.
Cantlay, the low amateur in last week`s US Open, fired the lowest round by any amateur in any PGA event to stand on 13-under par 127 after 36 holes with 77 players yet to finish round two in the storm-interrupted $6 million event.
"It`s just one round," Cantlay said. "It was a good round and I played really well. Nothing bad happened. I`m really proud of it, but I`ve got a couple more rounds to play."
Only six players finished their opening rounds on Thursday due to bad weather, but organizers hoped to complete the second round Saturday morning and finish the third round Saturday afternoon.
Aided by rain-softened conditions, Cantlay opened with a birdie and birdied four of the last five holes on the front nine.
Canlay eagled the par-5 13th, his second of the day after doing so in the morning while finishing his first 18 holes, and added a birdie at 14.
He then birdied the last two holes for the lowest round ever shot at TPC River Highlands, the old mark of 61 shared by four men, most recently Kenny Perry in 2009.
Cantlay, a 19-year-old student from the University of California at Los Angeles, also matched the tournament record from any course, set by Tommy Bolt in 1954 on the Wethersfield layout.
On the 18th hole, Cantlay had a chance to eagle from 152 yards to match the all-time PGA record low score of 59, but his approach rolled past the cup by two feet.
"I knew I needed to make eagle on 18 for 59," Cantlay said. "It`s tough to hole it from 152. I thought it had a chance. It was covering the flag pretty good. It takes some luck."
Cantlay says he does not plan to leave college early for the pro ranks, but a victory would bring the winner USD 1.08 million.
If he should win, Cantlay would have 60 days from Sunday to decide whether or not to accept the tour berth and two-year qualifying exemption for a victory.
But no amateur has won a US PGA event since Phil Mickelson at the 1991 Northern Telecom Open.
In the clubhouse sharing second on 131 were Brazil`s Alexandre Rocha and Americans D.J. Trahan, Vaughn Taylor and Webb Simpson.
Another stroke back were England`s Brian Davis and Americans Brendan Steele, Blake Adams, David Mathis and Michael Thompson.
Among those yet to finish, Argentina`s Andres Romero was the low man at nine-under, four back of Cantlay, with 13 holes to complete. He opened with back-to-back birdies and had another at the par-3 fifth just before play was stopped.
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.