Late double bogey knocks Scottie Scheffler from solo lead at windy Travelers Championship

Scottie Scheffler was leading by two strokes late in his second round Friday at the Travelers Championship, but a double bogey at the par-4 17th dropped him into a share of the top spot with Justin Thomas.

The world No. 1 and defending champion shared the first-round lead after opening in 8-under 62. Following a dropped shot at the par-5 sixth, he made birdies on Nos. 7, 9, 13 and 14 at TPC River Highlands.

Leading a red-hot Thomas by two, Scheffler hit his tee shot into the left fairway bunker on the 17th. From 149 yards, he came up short of the green and found the water on his way to a 6.

After a par to finish, Scheffler carded a 1-under 69 and posted 9 under on a very windy day in Cromwell, Connecticut.

“Somehow the wind either stops or goes back, because the way my ball was flying it should have basically gotten to the middle of the fairway and I end up in the left bunker,” Scheffler said of his tee shot on No. 17, which he bogeyed Thursday.

“Then I catch it a hair fat, and all of a sudden I’m dropping and hitting my fourth shot, and I hit the shot exactly the way we wanted to, and as the ball is flying, you get a gust into the wind, and all of a sudden the ball is not on the green. If it hadn’t have gotten that gust, it lands a couple paces behind it, spins back right to it. So just little stuff like that. You can’t get every one correct. You just do your best to manage your way around the golf course.”

Thomas reached 9 under as well, thanks to a 64 that included five consecutive birdies on the back nine.

“I was very patient. I hit a lot of really, really good iron shots. I felt like I was in good control. I didn’t feel like I drove it very well. I kept it in play and kept it in front of me, which is a big part of it, but I just kind of kept it out of trouble,” Thomas said.

“I would much prefer to be hitting the middle of the club face and doing that, but it’s still a good sign on a really windy day like this. If I have far from my best I can get it around the course and just stay patient, and finally made some putts on that back nine. It was nice.”

Scheffler and Thomas were two clear of everyone else, with the afternoon wave on the course.