Brendon Todd found himself in a familiar place, on top of the leaderboard, after three rounds of the Travelers Championship.
The 34-year-old Todd, who won two straight tournaments earlier this season, carded a brilliant, bogey-free 61 to take a two-stroke lead over resurgent Dustin Johnson at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn.
Tee times were moved up several hours because inclement weather was forecast for the afternoon.
“I’m just riding the confidence I had last fall when I was playing well,” said Todd, whose victories in the Bermuda Championship and the Mayakoba Golf Classic gave him three titles in his career. “I’ve felt pretty good, especially as I’ve played three weeks in a row.
“It seems like since the fall, whenever I get a two- or three-week stretch in a row, I tend to be playing better by the end of it. That’s just something I’m using to my advantage now after missing two cuts. I’m peaking in the third week and hopefully I can get it done tomorrow.”
Todd collected five birdies on the front nine and added four more coming home to post a 54-hole total of 18-under 192.
The sixth-ranked Johnson, playing his best golf of the season after coming back from left knee surgery, also recorded a bogey-free 61, making six birdies in the last 10 holes.
“I mean, it always could have been better,” said Johnson, who claimed the last of his 20 PGA Tour victories early last year in the WGC-Mexico Championship. “I hit a lot of nice putts that hit the hole from that eight- to 10-foot range, probably had four, five or six of them that I probably should have made.
“ … I’m very happy with the way I played. I gave myself a lot of looks. Every hole, like I said, I felt like I was giving myself an opportunity to make birdie, and I feel like I’m rolling the putter well, so I just need to get myself in a position where I’ve got a chance to make a putt.”
Kevin Streelman, who won the 2014 Travelers, shot 63 and is three shots behind in solo third after a 63, followed one more back by first-round leader Mackenzie Hughes of Canada, who put up a second straight 64 after an opening 60.
Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis and Kevin Na of Diamond Bar recorded 65s and are five behind in a tie for fifth, while 36-hole leader Phil Mickelson, a two-time winner at TPC River Highlands, struggled to a 71 and is six back in a tie for seventh with Scott Stallings (64), Seung-Yul Noh of South Korea (66), Patton Kizzire (66) and Abraham Ancer of Mexico (66).
Top-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland shot 69 and is in a tie for 16th that includes second-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain, who had a 66, while 10th-ranked Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego is tied for 22nd after a 70.
Ninth-ranked Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos and UCLA totaled 69 and is tied for 29th, while defending champion Chez Reavie finished at 68 and is tied for 39th, and seventh-ranked Patrick Reed is tied for 49th following a 69.
For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
