CROMWELL, Conn. _ After Mackenzie Hughes and Phil Mickelson stole the show through the first two rounds of the Travelers Championship, Brendon Todd and Dustin Johnson rose to the occasion on Saturday, each shooting a 9-under-par 61 to hold the top two spots on the leaderboard. Todd, at 18-under, leads Johnson by two.
Todd, the world's 58th ranked golfer, fired off five birdies on the front nine to climb up from a five-way tie for fourth. He birdied four holes on the back nine, and had an opportunity to record the tournament's fourth score of 60, but settled for par on the 18th hole.
"I've felt pretty good, especially as I've played weeks in a row," Todd said. "It seems like since the fall, whenever I get a two- or three-week stretch in a row, I tend to be playing better by the end of it. That's just something I'm using to my advantage now after missing two cuts; I'm peaking in the third week and hopefully I can get it done tomorrow."
Kevin Streelman, who won at TPC River Highlands in 2014, is in third at 15-under. Hughes, who shot a 10-under 60 on Thursday and was tied for second through two rounds, is in fourth at 14-under.
Johnson, like Todd, had a shot to shoot 60 as well, but his birdie putt on the 18th hole fell just short and he settled for par.
"I mean, it always could have been better," Johnson, the world's sixth ranked player, said of his round. "I hit a lot of nice putts that hit the hole from that eight- to 10-foot range, probably had four, five or six of them that I probably should have made ... . I'm very happy with the way I played. I gave myself a lot of looks. Every hole, like I said, I felt like I was giving myself an opportunity to make birdie, and I feel like I'm rolling the putter well, so I just need to get myself in a position where I've got a chance to make a putt."
This year's tournament has been played without spectators, with restrictions in place due to COVID-19. Six golfers have withdrawn from the tournament for reasons related to the virus: Denny McCarthy tested positive and withdrew; Bud Cauley, who played with McCarthy on Thursday, tested negative but withdrew out of caution. Cameron Champ tested positive and withdrew Tuesday before the tournament began. Graeme McDowell withdrew after his caddie tested positive before traveling to Connecticut. Brooks Koepka also withdrew after his caddie tested positive and his brother Chase Koepka did the same after playing a practice round with his brother and McDowell. Webb Simpson withdrew as a precaution.
Bryson DeChambeau posted a 5-under 65 on Saturday, dropping his score to 13-under and tied for fifth with Kevin Na. He registered a bogey-free scorecard, with two birdies on the front nine and three on the back.
Mickelson, the second-round leader, posted a 1-over 71 and is tied with five players at 12-under.
"My iron play wasn't as on as it should have been I felt like today, and the driving just was not on, as well," DeChambeau said. "I've slowed down a little bit because I'm guiding it with the driver right now, not 100 percent confident with it, but I'm working hard to figure out what I had at Colonial and RBC. It's not bad, obviously; it's just not exactly where I want it where I can get up on the tee box and let it go and know it's going straight. If I can get that down by tomorrow and make some putts and have some good wedging around the greens, hopefully I can go low."
The 11th-ranked player in the world, DeChambeau has placed top 10 in five consecutive tournaments, and has turned some heads with the way he's bulked up and added yardage to his drives. A win, this season, still eludes him. For back-to-back years, it's taken a score of 17-under to win the Travelers.
DeChambeau needs to go low again tomorrow to be in position to hoist the trophy, something he feels he's been capable of doing all week, but hasn't.
"I've had a chance to shoot 63 every single day out here and haven't done it," he said. "So I think that's in play tomorrow, and if I go out and birdie the first couple holes and give myself a chance on 3 and 4, it's watch out."
