Eric Cole
1st
R1: -7

Eric Cole fired a bogey-free 7-under 63 Friday. This round equaled his best of the season, matching his Charles Schwab Challenge third-round performance.

Cole ranked among the top-4 in multiple Strokes Gained categories. He led all players in Tee to Green (1st/4.547). His Approach the Green play ranked second (2nd/2.876). Around the Green he placed fourth (4th/1.443).

Cole holds the first-round lead or co-lead for the fourth time. This marks his first outright first-round lead. However, he has converted zero of three first-round leads to victory. Two weeks ago at the RBC Canadian Open, he shared the first-round lead. He followed a first-round 64 with a second-round 76. He became the first player since Jordan Spieth to hold an 18-hole lead and miss the cut. Spieth last achieved this distinction at the 2023 Sony Open in Hawaii.

Cole seeks his first PGA Tour victory in his 123rd start. He owns three runner-up finishes, most recently at the 2023 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. His season includes four top-10 finishes in 16 starts overall. A playoff loss to Russell Henley at the Charles Schwab Challenge led his season finishes.

Cole makes his fourth Travelers Championship start this week. His previous results include T24 in 2023 and T48 in 2024. Last year he withdrew. This year he shot 68-67-69 through three rounds. He entered the final round at T14 before withdrawing with illness prior to play.

Scottie Scheffler
T2
R1: -6

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, the 2024 Travelers Championship winner, opened with a bogey-free 6-under 64. This marked his seventh start at the event.

Scheffler's bogey-free round represents his 83rd such round overall. No other player on the PGA TOUR has recorded more bogey-free rounds since 2019.

At TPC River Highlands, Scheffler's first-round scoring average stands at 65.86.

As the FedExCup leader and 20-time TOUR winner, Scheffler searches for his second victory of the season. He previously won The American Express.

Bud Cauley
T2
R1: -6

Two weeks after capturing his first PGA TOUR victory at the RBC Canadian Open, Bud Cauley posted a bogey-free 6-under 64. This score ranks as the second-lowest in 28 rounds at TPC River Highlands. The lowest score of 63 came in the first round of 2014.

Matt Fitzpatrick
T2
R1: -6

Matt Fitzpatrick, the season's only three-time winner, shot a 6-under 64. He finished tied for second at 6-under par.

Fitzpatrick has improved in each of his four prior Travelers Championship starts. He missed the cut in 2020. He tied for 49th in 2023. He tied for 36th in 2024. He tied for 17th in 2025.

Keegan Bradley
T20
R1: -3

Keegan Bradley finished tied for 20th place at 3-under par. He opened with a 3-under 67 in his current bid for back-to-back titles.

Bradley won the Travelers Championship in both 2023 and 2025. No player has won consecutive Travelers Championship titles since Phil Mickelson in 2001-2002.

Bradley's previous championship runs featured strong opening rounds. He shot a 62 in his 2023 victory and a 64 in his 2025 victory.

Wyndham Clark
T32
R1: -2

Wyndham Clark finished tied for 32nd place at two-under par. He seeks to become the first player to win a major championship and then a PGA TOUR event the following week since Scottie Scheffler. Scottie Scheffler accomplished this feat by winning the 2024 Masters Tournament and the 2024 RBC Heritage consecutively.