Jason Day bounced back from his recent back injuries with a brilliant 62 at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut today to give himself a chance of his first win in three years on the tour.
Day, who withdrew from the Memorial Tournament because of his chronic back injury recently, then missed his first US Open in 11 years, was on song with the putter at TPC River Highlands.
At nine-under he was in a share of the lead when he tapped in at the ninth hole, his last of the day.
The 33-year-old Australian jumped to the top of the leaderboard with a five-metre birdie putt at the par-four seventh hole, then made good saves for par at the eighth and ninth. He had eight birdies for the day and went bogey-free.
The most recent of his 12 PGA Tour wins was the Wells Fargo Championship in May, 2018.
At five-under, Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman are also in the mix at that event.
Meanwhile, rookie professional Gabriela Ruffels leads the Australians at the LPGA Tour’s third Major of the season after a brilliant 65 today at Atlanta Athletic Club.
The 21-year-old Ruffels, who was given a sponsor’s invitation to play in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, sits inside the top 20 after making birdie at the last four holes.
But Hannah Green, who is heading home for a break in Australia tomorrow before the Olympic Games, missed the cut after shooting 76 today.
Grace Kim has made the most of her first start on the Symetra Tour, and she is in contention after carding an opening-round 68 at the Prasco Charity Championship in Cincinatti, Ohio.
The Australians dropped off the pace on the second day of the BMW International in Munich on the European Tour. Min Woo Lee and Maverick Antcliff are tied-27th at five-under, but first-round leader Wade Ormsby slid back to four-under after his opening 65.
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