Scottie Scheffler hits at the first tee during the second round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands, Friday, June 26, 2026, in Cromwell, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

CROMWELL, Conn. — Scottie Scheffler could not convert a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Friday at the Travelers Championship, narrowly missing out on a chance to join Jim Furyk as the only players in PGA Tour history with two sub-60 rounds.

Scheffler had to settle for a 10-under 60 on the soft TPC River Highlands course, setting an early target atop the scoreboard on a day of extreme low scoring at the final signature event of the regular season.

“Going out yesterday in the afternoon, when the greens get firm out here and the wind starts to blow, it can get tricky pretty quickly,” Scheffler said. “Going out this morning, you definitely had a feeling the conditions were going to be easier, so you need to go out there and try and take advantage of it.”

Scheffler was at 16-under 124, two shots ahead of Viktor Hovland.

“At the end of the day, I was very focused on just my execution out there,” Scheffler said. “Who knows what the lead is going to be after today. I’ve put myself in position now this week. Go home, get some rest, and get ready for tomorrow.”

Playing three groups in front of Scheffler, Hovland needed to birdie the final two holes for a 59. He settled for a pair of pars and a 61, matching his career best on tour.

“Certainly it was more gettable today than it was even yesterday,” Hovland said.

Akshay Bhatia had a 62 to match first-round leader Eric Cole at 12 under.

“I know how this golf course can play,” Bhatia said. “You got to kind of keep making birdies and try and limit mistakes.”

Cole parred the final eight holes in a 65.

“Maybe just being tired or something and making some tired swings,” Cole said.

Matt Fitzpatrick, Bud Cauley and Ben Griffin were tied for fifth at 10 under, each shooting 66.

Scheffler shot 59 in his rookie season in 2020 in the second round of The Northern Trust at the TPC Boston, another rain-softened course that featured low scoring. Dustin Johnson was 11 under through 11 holes that day and had to settle for a 60.

“Some days they’re kind of hanging on the edge and not quite going in, and then other days they’re finding the bottom of the cup,” Scheffler said. “Today was a day definitely in which most of them were finding the bottom of the cup.”

Furyk shot his first sub-60 round in the second round of the 2013 BMW Championship at Conway Farms outside Chicago, a 59 that included a bogey on his card. Three years later, he set the PGA Tour record at the Travelers Championship with a 58 in the final round.

Furyk did not win either tournament.

“It was like, `It would be cool to shoot 59, but somebody has already shot 58 here, so it’s not even the course record,'” Scheffler said.

Scheffler, who won the Travelers Championship two years ago, is coming off a tie for fourth in the U.S. Open when he played in the final round. His last victory was The American Express in the California desert, his first start of the year.

Scheffler bogeyed the par-4 second, leaving a wedge from the fairway well short and missing an 8-foot par try.

Yoon widens lead

CHASKA, Minn. — Ina Yoon stretched her lead at the Women’s PGA Championship with a 3-under 69 that put her five strokes up on the second-place pack after another strong South Korean showing Friday.

Yoon, who shot a record 63 in the first round at Hazeltine National Golf Club, had two bogeys with one birdie on the back nine to reach 12 under. The 23-year-old is seeking her first LPGA Tour victory.

“The remaining two days will obviously be nerve-racking, but being nervous is human nature, and I think I want to embrace that and focus on what I can in my shots,” said Yoon, who missed the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open this month after tying for fourth at the first major of the season at The Chevron Championship.

Nasa Hataoka, Brooke Henderson, A Lin Kim and Hae Ran Ryu were tied for second. Ryu shot a 64 for the best score of the day, three strokes better than Hataoka. Henderson finished with three straight birdies for a 68. Kim shot a 70. They all left the course in good spirits, yet trying to figure out how to make up five strokes.

“It’s halfway done. She had a great first half, so hopefully I can just have a great second half to try to make up the difference,” said Henderson, the Canadian who won the Women’s PGA Championship at age 18 in 2016 at Sahalee Country Club in Washington. “I feel like overall the way I’ve been playing the course has been really solid, so just hopefully I make a few more birdies and climb the board.”

LPGA Tour leader Nelly Korda, who opened her bid for a third straight major title this year with a quiet 70, had a 68 to climb into a tie for sixth place with Dongeun Lee at 6 under.

After rallying from a slow start to win the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, Korda put herself in a viable position.

“It is hard to have a big lead going into the weekend. I was there at Chevron and you do feel a little bit more pressure, like everyone is hunting you down. I’m just going to focus on, as boring as it is, one shot at a time and see where that takes me,” Korda said. “I know the wind will be higher this weekend so it’s going to play probably a little bit more difficult.”

Yoon, Kim, Ryu and Lee gave South Korean four of the top seven at the midpoint of a tournament that has so far enjoyed calm, dry and comfortable conditions with high temperatures in the mid-70s.