Travelers Championship: Rickie Fowler makes history to climb leaderboard
Rickie Fowler’s third round at the Travelers Championship Saturday resembled his trademark orange wardrobe.
He was on fire.
Fowler shot a remarkable 60—the lowest round in his PGA Tour career. His 10-under round at TPC River Highlands shot him up the leaderboard 38 places as he now sits at 15-under for the championship.
The PGA Tour sent players off split tees to avoid inclement weather, so Fowler started on the back nine.
He birdied the 12th, 13th, 15th, 17th, and 18th to go out with a 5-under 30.
Fowler continued to turn up the heat on his second nine, as he birded the 1st and 2nd holes to get to 7-under on the round.
But his round entered special territory at the par-5 6th hole, the longest hole on the course at 575 yards.
After finding the fairway, Fowler hit his second shot about 20 yards short of the green.
He then chipped in for an eagle three.
RICKIE!@RickieFowler holes out for eagle to get to T3 and 9-under on the day @TravelersChamp pic.twitter.com/6e80VKncQh — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 24, 2023
By that point, Fowler was 9-under on his round.
After making par at the 7th, he stepped up to the par-3 8th, where Rory McIlroy recorded his first hole-in-one on the PGA Tour Thursday.
Fowler was not too far from having an ace of his own as he hit his tee shot to seven feet. He then made his ninth birdie of the day, which put him at 10-under for the round.
Another birdie for @RickieFowler
He needs a birdie on No. 9 to shoot 59 @TravelersChamp #59Watch pic.twitter.com/2nkCUhDw0N — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 24, 2023
Had Fowler birdied the 9th hole—his final one of the day—he would have shot an illustrious 59, informally known as a perfect score in golf.
But he missed the green at the 9th and had to settle for a tap-in par.
When he walked off the golf course, Fowler sat three shots behind Keegan Bradley, the 36-hole leader.
Regardless, Fowler carded his best round ever on the PGA Tour and now has a chance to win a PGA Tour event for the first time since the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Maybe his orange outfit will bring out even more heat—and a trophy—on Sunday.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
Source: SB Nation
