CROMWELL, Conn. - Rory McIlroy fought off a sinus bug Thursday to shoot an 8-under-par 62 for a share of the first-round lead with J.T. Poston in the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship.
Coming off a fifth-place tie Sunday in the U.S. Open after winning the Canadian Open the previous week, the second-ranked McIlroy had a bogey-free morning round, with the highlight his 47-foot birdie putt on the par-4 seventh.
McIlroy matched the lowest opening round of his PGA Tour career. He finished with a tap-in birdie on the ninth hole after a 332-yard drive and a 44-foot chip just past the pin.
"It's like U.S. Open rehab coming here," the four-time major champion from Northern Ireland said. "I like coming here the week after the U.S. Open - it sort of gives you an opportunity to shoot low scores and get after it."
Poston had five straight birdies on Nos. 13-17 and made the turn at 6-under 29, giving rise to thoughts of Jim Furyk's record 58 on the same TPC River Highlands course in 2016. Poston parred the first six holes on the front nine and birdied Nos. 7 and 9 to cap a bogey-free round.
"I gave myself a few looks but kind of made a bunch of pars to start the front, so that was kind of out of the picture after a little while," Poston said. "I might have thought about it a little more if I had made a couple of early birdies."
Xander Schauffele and England's Martin Laird were a stroke back. Patrick Cantlay, Charles Howell III and Webb Simpson were tied for fifth at 64, with Matthew NeSmith and Australia's Cam Davis another shot behind.
The tie for 10th at 66 included three of the four Baylor School graduates on the PGA Tour: reigning tournament champion Harris English, Keith Mitchell and Stephan Jaeger. Another former Red Raiders standout, Luke List, was tied for 30th after a 68.
English won last year when he outlasted Kramer Hickok on a playoff that went eight holes.
Rain on Wednesday left the greens soft in the morning. They hardened later in the day and the wind picked up after lunch, leading to some higher scores.
"I thought the conditions in the afternoon were a lot tougher," Cantlay said. "It was blowing as soon as I got on the first tee. Watching a little bit of the coverage this morning, I knew it was much different this afternoon than the low scores those guys put up this morning."
Haas, Hensby lead
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Jay Haas has been shooting his age or better for the past three years, but never on a stage quite like this one.
Haas steadied himself from an up-and-down start at soggy Saucon Valley and played much younger than his 68 years down the stretch, posting a 4-under 67 to share the lead with Australia's Mark Hensby after the opening round of the U.S. Senior Open.
Haas became the fifth player in U.S. Senior Open history to shoot his age, joining Hale Irwin, Harold McSpaden, Tom Watson and Jerry Barber, who did it nine times and was the oldest first-time winner of a major in the 1961 PGA Championship. Haas had shot his age six previous times on the PGA Tour Champions, but never in a major.
Haas and Hensby were a shot ahead of Rocco Mediate, Tim Petrovic, Steve Stricker and England's Paul Broadhurst. Even with the morning rain that pounded the course and left the greens receptive when it relented, only 11 players managed to break par.
The co-leaders benefited from the later start after the steady rain all morning made it difficult to keep clubs dry. Paul Goydos had the low score from the morning wave at 69 and was tied for seventh with Rob Labritz.
Dominant start
BETHESDA, Md. - In Gee Chun is alone atop the Women's PGA Championship after a sensational start.
No player has ever been further ahead after 18 holes at a women's major tournament.
Chun breezed to an 8-under 64 to take a five-stroke advantage after the first round at Congressional Country. While most of the field slogged through the day on the wet Blue Course, Chun birdied seven of eight holes during one stretch. She was seven shots ahead when she finished her round and ended up tying a record for the largest 18-hole lead at a major.
Mickey Wright led this tournament by five after the first round in 1961.
"I don't know what golf course In Gee is playing," Nelly Korda, the tournament's reigning champion, said after finishing her round of 71 that left her tied for sixth place with eight others.
There was heavy rain in the area overnight and more precipitation during play Thursday morning. That softened the course but also made Congressional's length - 6,809 yards for this first round - more of a factor. It was no big deal for Chun, a 27-year-old from South Korea seeking her third major title.
"Greens were softer," she said. "So I think it was just a balance."
South Korea's Hye-Jin Choi and Thailand's Pornanong Phatlum shot bogey-free rounds of 69, with U.S. player Jennifer Chang and South Africa's Paula Reto another stroke back.