Paul Casey was one of the last golfers on the course Thursday at the Travelers Championship, and he started in a similar spot to where he finished last year.
Casey was one of the runner-ups in last year's event, and starts this year in another tie one shot back of the lead (5 under).
He had a share of the lead until a bogey on the par-4 18 dropped him down a peg. Casey, who is chasing his second win of the season, was bogey-free up to that point and was just a couple of feet away from an ace on the par-3 11th hole.
Stopping the approach on a dime.@Paul_Casey picks up his 3rd 🐦 of the day after he puts it close.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/lwXVVcdjFB
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 20, 2019
He'll try to catch up with six golfers who sit in first place (6 under) after the first round at TPC River Highlands.
Canada's Mackenzie Hughes, Mexico's Abraham Ancer, South Korea's Kyoung-Hoon Lee as well as Americans Bronson Burgoon, Ryan Armour and Zack Sucher all make up the top of the leaderboard.
Hughes joined the pack in control after a clutch birdie putt on his final hole.
🇨🇦 @MacHughesGolf for a tie of the @TravelersChamp lead on his final hole of the First Round... 👌#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/g9uewWqGmx
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 20, 2019
Armour, who has just one PGA Tour win after turning professional in 1999, tied his low round of the season after a closing birdie on the par-4 18.
Scott Langley, Brady Schnell, Chez Reavie, Keegan Bradley and Robert Streb, who has only one win dating back to 2014, also trail the leaders in second place.
Reavie is coming off his best finish at a major championship after he tied for third at the U.S. Open. Bradley, who missed the cut at Pebble Beach, had a colorful front nine with six birdies and one bogey before finishing with nine consecutive pars.
Bradley has never missed a cut at the Travelers, and had a top-10 finish back in 2017.
"I love coming and playing here at Travelers. It's one my favorite events," he said. "I've seen the tournament grow so much in my nine starts, and it's become one of the premier events on the Tour."
A sizable tie for 13th place (4 under) rounds out the top golfers and includes Andrew Putnam, Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen and Tommy Fleetwood.
Bubba Watson, the 2018 Travelers champion, is tied for 61st after shooting a 1-under 69.