Travelers Championship: Fredrik Jacobson Leads, Cantlay Five Back

CROMWELL, CT - At the start of round three, all eyes were on 19-year-old UCLA freshman Patrick Cantlay, who was leading the tournament after 36 holes.  

Cantlay was attempting to become the first amateur to win on tour since Phil Mickelson won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open while still a student at Arizona State.

Cantlay was also vying to become the youngest player to win a PGA Tour event since 1900.

The young amateur played like a seasoned veteran on the front nine in that he didn’t have his best stuff, but he still managed to make the turn in even par for the day.

However, a case of the rights on the back nine dropped Cantlay from a share of the lead all the way back into a tie for 10th.

It all began on the par-four 12th, where Cantlay hit his tee shot right but managed to save par with an excellent fairway bunker shot and two solid putts.

On the par-five 13th, Cantlay found the water to the right of the fairway and after eagling the hole twice during the first two rounds, could do no better than a bogey six on Saturday.

On the drivable par-four 15th, Cantlay hit his tee shot right into a greenside bunker and could only manage par on a hole that had a stroke average of 3.52 for the day.

Then, on the par-four 17th, Cantlay found the water for the second time in five holes when his tee shot sailed into the water lining the entire right side of the fairway.

And on the 18th Cantlay (yup, you guessed it) hit his tee shot right and wound up finishing his round with two consecutive bogeys.

“I struggled today,” Cantlay said following his round.

“I got off to kind of a slow start and really never got any momentum going. I hit a couple of bad drives coming in, and it cost me.”

While Cantlay was struggling to control his tee shots through much of the back-nine, the rest of the field was tearing up TPC River Highlands on a day where birdies were there for the taking. 

10 players posted rounds of 65 or better.

Fredrick Jacobson posted a 63 on Saturday, which brought him to 16-under-par for the tournament and gave him sole possession of the 54-hole lead. He is the only player in the field without a bogey, and if he were to continue his bogey-free streak through Sunday, he could become the first player since Lee Trevino at the 1974 Greater New Orleans Open to win with no bogeys over 72 holes.

“I've been hitting the ball solid, you know,” Jacobson said after round three.  

“And I did last week, at the end of the last week strike the ball nice. Managed to carry that into this week which has been nice.”

Kevin Streelman also posted a third-round 63, and currently sits in a tie for 10th.

Trailing Jacobson by only one stroke is Bryce Molder, who posted a 64, and two strokes behind Molder is New England native James Driscoll, who posted a 64 of his own on Saturday afternoon.

Six other players are tied for fourth at 12-under-par and four strokes off the lead.

In all, there are 15 players within five strokes of the lead heading into Sunday’s final round, and sitting one more stroke back at 10-under-par are guys like Hunter Mahan and Brandt Snedeker, who have both shown a propensity to go low on Sunday.

Although Cantlay sits five strokes off the lead heading into the final round, he is by no means out of this tournament. In fact, the Travelers Championship has a tendency to turn into a birdie-fest on Sunday. Just 12 months ago Bubba Watson came from six strokes back to capture the title.

“I'm in good position, and I probably would have taken it at the beginning of the week, so I'm in a good spot and I'm going to play well tomorrow,” Cantlay said.

If Cantlay wants to become the first amateur in 20 years to win on tour, he is going to have to put the pedal to the medal from his opening tee shot, as there are 14 players either tied with or ahead of him on the leaderboard.

Whether or not Cantlay can somehow pull off a stunning victory today, one thing is for sure: the massive crowds scattered about TPC River Highlands have chosen their favorite for the week, and he’s a 19-year-old college student from Southern California.

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