Brendon Todd takes Travelers lead in bid for third victory

CROMWELL, Conn. - When you’re pretty much isolated in the zone – and we suspect that hitting all 14 fairways, 16 of 18 greens, and running your bogey-free streak to 50 holes, as Brendon Todd did in his 9-under 61 today at the Travelers Championship, constitutes being “in the zone” – then you don’t have time for history lessons.

But, oh, how his playing competitors could have regaled him.

“Let me tell you about 2014,” Kevin Streelman might have said. “Trailed by four to start the final round, birdied each of my last seven holes, shot 64, and won.”

“Impressive,” Marc Leishman would have been able to counter with. “But my effort two years earlier wasn’t bad, mate. Left here Saturday in a tie for 20th, six back, shot bogey-free 62 Sunday, and won.”

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True, in Saturday morning’s solitude, with even the leaders on the course to help beat turbulent afternoon weather, it wasn’t the time to stroll down memory lane. Besides, Streelman was enjoying the ball-striking clinic put on by his competitor.

“He putted just perfectly out there,” said Streelman, after watching Todd use just 25 putts to make birdies on half his holes. “Every putt inside of 15, 20 feet looks like it's going to go in, and today most of them did go in. He's always been an incredible putter. He's swinging it great, and when he's putting well, he's tough to beat.”

Properly stated and saturated in diplomacy, but here at TPC River Highlands, virtually every competitor knows that there has never been anything resembling a “safe lead,” that your rear-view mirror is always clogged with tailgaters, so you best keep your foot on the pedal. Streelman and Leishman are just two of 13 winners since 2000 who have come from behind on Sunday to win.

For proof to the way you can speedboat here, consider that as brilliantly as Todd played – and he pushed to 18-under 192 to get into a two-shot lead – he only matched the low round of the day. A few groups earlier, the esteemed Dustin Johnson conceded his morning “was a pretty easy 61.”

Hitting 12 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens put Johnson in the passing lane, big time; five behind 36-hole leader Phil Mickelson, Johnson roared into second place, at 16-under 194.

Not that it’s a two-man race. Not with this tournament’s history. That means Streelman, who shot 63 and is alone in third, is very much alive, three behind Todd, and so, too, is Mackenzie Hughes (68), who is four back. Those who are at five back – Bryson DeChambeau (65) and Kevin Na (65) – would even have to be considered in the hunt, given the fourth-round history at the Travelers.

But Rory McIlroy (69 – 200, T-18, and eight back) puts up the stop sign.

“Too far back and too many people,” said the world No. 1 after a day in which he could have used a lot of the ball-striking prowess displayed by Todd and Johnson. (McIlroy hit just eight fairways and 11 greens.)

Even after you accept the deep history of comebacks here and pay due respect to those within five of the lead, it’s worth admiring the contrast in the final pairing, for it provides more proof that golf is flavorful.

Todd, who will turn 35 next month, and Johnson, who turned 36 last Monday, hail from the same part of the country (Todd from Georgia, Johnson from South Carolina) and turned pro in 2007. But you might stop with the similarities there, given the routes they’ve been on.

By the time Todd won his first PGA TOUR tournament, in 2014, Johnson owned eight victories and was a megastar. Seemingly oblivious to stress, Johnson can laugh at that perception and tell you he feels it “a lot more than you think, (but) I try not to show it.”

What he can’t hide is a brilliant resume (20 PGA TOUR wins, a U.S. Open title, stints at No. 1 in the world) and a saunter that if you could bottle it and sell it would bring you millions. Whereas he appears incapable of playing poorly, Todd presents a different side of the equation and that makes him . . . well, someone to be admired, a guy overflowing with humanness.

Take those dark years, for instance, 2016-19, a period during which Todd made 12 cuts in 55 starts. Talk about an easy out, a simple reason to quit. Yet Todd didn’t. If you look of perseverance and don’t see his picture, you’ve got an inferior dictionary and when he stands next to Johnson on the first tee Sunday afternoon, only one of them can say they’ve won a tournament in this 2019-20 season, disjointed season.

That would be Todd, who prevailed back-to-back last fall, at the Bermuda Championship and Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico. Crazy, that pairing. The continuation of a vintage feel-good story and continuation of a career that has been consistently pure.

Admire the storyline, but then take a deep breath and study your history of the Travelers Championship. Many other competitors have a chance Sunday.