Ireland’s Seamus Power was three shots off the pace after carding a four-under 66 on the opening day of the Travelers Championship.
Satoshi Kodaira of Japan and Kramer Hickok each scored a 63 at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut to be seven-under and one stroke ahead of Hickok’s fellow American Talor Gooch.
Power, 34, mixed six birdies with a pair of bogeys for his 66, while Englishman Tom Lewis carded a 67 after he recovered from double-bogeying the par-four fourth hole with five birdies in his remaining play.
Lewis’s compatriot Ian Poulter was five shots back from the leaders on two-under 68, with Justin Rose joining defending champion Dustin Johnson in carding an even-par 70.
England’s Paul Casey struggled to overcome a horror start in which he bogeyed his first four holes from the 10th to the 13th en route to scoring a one-over 71.
Scotland’s Russell Knox, meanwhile, was 10 strokes off the pace at three-over 73 while Luke Donald had six bogeys and a double-bogey on a horror day which ended with him 15 shots behind Kodaira and Hickok.
