Fredrik Jacobson takes a solid start at the Travelers Championship
Fredrik Jacobson, the defending champion at the Travelers Championship, fired a five-under par 65 in the opening round at the TPC River Highlands, in Cromwell, to share the second spot on Thursday, June 21, 2012.
Jacobson got off to a solid start and managed to score seven birdies through 14 holes to take an early lead.
However, a double-bogey on the par-three 16th hole forced him to slip down to the second place — one stroke behind David Mathis, who carded a six-under par 64.
According to him, it was difficult to focus during the game because of the hot weather conditions at the venue.
Yet, he managed to post an impressive score, as he had great ball control throughout the day and hit 16 greens-in-regulation.
“I enjoyed it out there. It was hot out there. It was one of those days you're going to have to focus hard to stay in it in a day like this, and I was fortunate enough to play really well and get off to a good start,” he said.
“... I struck it really solid all day and really only had one hiccup on 16 where I landed the ball a foot from the hole, and ended up with a 5 to double there, but the rest was no mistakes”.
Jacobson also created birdie chances on the final two holes. However, he missed the cups by just a few inches to register a five-under par score and remain one stroke behind Mathis.
“... 17 broke a bit more than I expected, and 18 I really thought we had that one, but it ran out of a little pace and broke a bit too much at the end,” he said.
In the meantime, Nathan Green and Will Claxton also managed to post a five-under par 65 each to share the second spot.
The best shot of the day was played by the leader Mathis, who recorded a hole-in-one on the par-three 11th hole.
Webb Simpson, the winner of last week’s US Open, carded a four-under par 66 to finish in a 10-way tie for the fifth place.
Tags: