Matt Fitzpatrick quickly is knocking on the door for PGA Tour sesason win number four in posting a superb six-under 64 on the opening day of the 2026 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands course in Cromwell, Connecticut.
Fitzpatrick was among six players ending the first round tied in second place in the tournament that was first staged on the Hartford course in 1984.
Among those in second is World No. 1 Scottie Scheffeler, and unlike Fitzpatrick, has won just once this season.
KNOCKING ON DOOR FOR ‘W’ NO. FOUR …
Matt Fitzpatrick @MattFitz94 @Workday quickly looking to capture @PGATOUR new season victory No. 4⃣ after muscling his way to share of second day one @TravelersChamp @TPCRH
Read: https://t.co/UMIcTRkFeI
PGA/Getty
✅ @TOURMISS pic.twitter.com/Mo889pBXvu
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) June 26, 2026
American Eric Cole leads the way as he seeks a maiden PGA Tour success in his 123rd Tour start in a field of just 72 players.
Fitzpatrick capped his opening day effort with seven birdies and just the one bogey.
“I played really solid. Took advantage of the scoring holes there. Just felt like I kind of did, well pretty much everything really, really solid today. So overall just a really good day,” said Fitzgerald.
The former US Open champ is coming off
The present World No. 4 is off a T22nd place in last week’s US Open and also being runner-up in the RBC Canadian Open and on top of three wins, and the most of any PGA Tour player this year, spoke of his superb season.
“It’s been a great start today and just feel like that, you know, there’s still a lot of big tournaments coming up, which is really nice,” he said.
“If I can hopefully find some form coming into these, the final stretch, particularly in Europe with the Open Championship and then obviously the playoffs, it would be nice to end the season on a real high.
As well, Fitpatrick has a new driver in the bag this week.
He said: “I have a different driver this week. That’s obviously new. Just getting comfortable with that and I had, you know, felt like I practiced well these first three days as well and just managed to find something that I felt was working a bit better”.
First-Round Notes – Thursday, June 25, 2026
Thursday: Partly cloudy. High of 82. Wind SW 6-12 mph.
First-Round Leaderboard
| Pos. | Player | Total |
| 1 | Eric Cole | 63 (-7) |
| T2 | Nico Echavarria | 64 (-6) |
| T2 | Ben Griffin | 64 (-6) |
| T2 | Matt Fitzpatrick | 64 (-6) |
| T2 | Kristoffer Reitan | 64 (-6) |
| T2 | Bud Cauley | 64 (-6) |
| T2 | Scottie Scheffler | 64 (-6) |
Eric Cole (1st/-7)
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Posts bogey-free 7-under 63 to equal his best round of the season (Charles Schwab Challenge/R3)
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Ranked among the top-4 after the first round in the following Strokes Gained categories: Tee to Green (1st/4.547), Approach the Green (2nd/2.876), Around the Green (4th/1.443)
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Holds the first-round lead/co-lead for the fourth time (first in outright fashion); 0-for-3 to date converting to victory
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Most recently shared the first-round lead two weeks ago at the RBC Canadian Open; followed up a 64 in round one with a 76 to become the first player to hold at least a share of the 18-hole lead and go on to miss the cut since Jordan Spieth at the 2023 Sony Open in Hawaii
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Seeking his first PGA TOUR victory in his 123rd start; three runner-up finishes (2023 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches/P2, 2023 Baycurrent Classic/T2, 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge/P2)
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Season includes four-top 10 finishes in 16 starts, led by a playoff loss to Russell Henley at the Charles Schwab Challenge
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Making his fourth start at the Travelers Championship (T24/2023, T48/2024, WD/2025); after rounds of 68-67-69, entered the final round in 2025 at T14 before withdrawing prior to the round with an illness
Scottie Scheffler (T2/-6)
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World No. 1 and 2024 Travelers Championship winner opens with a bogey-free 6-under 64 in his seventh start at the event
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Marks his 83rd bogey-free round, the most of any player on the PGA TOUR since 2019
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First-round scoring average at TPC River Highlands is 65.86
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FedExCup leader and 20-time TOUR winner in search of his second victory of the season (The American Express)
Additional Notes
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Two weeks after capturing his first PGA TOUR victory at the RBC Canadian Open, Bud Cauley (T2/-6) posts a bogey-free 6-under 64; second-lowest score in 28 rounds at TPC River Highlands (63/R1/2014)
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The season’s only three-time winner Matt Fitzpatrick (T2/-6) posts a 6-under 64; has improved in each of his four prior Travelers Championship starts (MC/2020, T49/2023, T36/2024, T17/2025)
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2023 and 2025 Travelers Championship winner Keegan Bradley (T20/-3) opens with a 3-under 67 in bid to become the first player since Phil Mickelson (2001-2002) to win consecutive Travelers Championship titles; opened with a 62 and 64, respectively, en route to his wins in 2023 and 2025
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Wyndham Clark (T32/-2) seeks to become the first player to win a major championship and then a PGA TOUR event the following week since Scottie Scheffler (2024 Masters Tournament, 2024 RBC Heritage)
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Milford, Connecticut native Ben James (T32/-2), who earned PGA TOUR membership as the No. 1 player from the 2026 PGA TOUR University Ranking, opens with a 2-under 68 in his first Travelers Championship start as a professional and third overall; missed the cut as an amateur in 2022 and 2023 at TPC River Highlands
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67.961 marks the lowest first-round scoring average of the season (previous: 68.288/The American Express)
