CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Russell Knox nicknamed himself “The Beast” after playing two good rounds at the Travelers Championship.
He doubled down on that Sunday after sinking a 12-foot putt on the final hole to save par and beat hometown favorite Jerry Kelly by a stroke, hours after Jim Furyk shot the first 58 in PGA Tour history.
“I felt like the Incredible Hulk when it went in,” Knox said. “I could have ripped my shirt off.”
Knox closed with a 2-under 68 for a 14-under 266 total at TPC River Highlands. The 31-year-old Scot won for the second time on the tour, following his breakthrough victory in China in November in the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions.
Kelly, the 49-year-old former University of Hartford player, finished with a 64.
Furyk tied for fifth at 11 under. He opened with rounds of 73, 66 and 72.
Knox opened with consecutive 67s and had a 64 on Saturday. He took the lead with birdies at 13 and 14. He bogeyed the par-3 16th, and missed a chance to seal it on the par-3 17th when his 20-foot birdie putt stopped an inch right of the hole.
The Scot hit his tee shot on the par-4 18th right and into the crowd, and his second shot into a green-side bunker below the hole. He pitched out short of the hole, setting up a putt that went straight into the hole. He didn’t tear his shirt off, but did send his hat flying in celebration.
“Everybody dreams of making a putt on the last hole to win a tournament,” he said. “I just kept telling myself, this is your chance to make a putt to have a great celebration and hear the roars. I’m glad it went in.”
Justin Thomas was almost an afterthought despite shooting a 62 and stringing together five straight birdies to close out the front nine. He finished with nine birdies on the day and at 12 under for the tournament, tied with Patrick Rodgers for third place. Rodgers shot a 68.
Furyk, already one of six PGA Tour players to shoot 59, took advantage of soft, clean greens during the morning after Saturday afternoon rains.
The 46-year-old American bounced in an eagle from 135 yards on his third hole, ran off seven straight birdies around the turn and picked up his final birdie on the 16th hole with a putt from just inside 24 feet.
He rolled in a short par putt on the final hole, thrust his arms in the air and waved his cap to salute thousands of fans who had rushed to the amphitheater around the 18th green to catch a stunning slice of history.
”There’s a lot of rounds by a lot of great players ahead of me that have never reached 58, so to hold that record alone right now, on the PGA Tour at least ... is phenomenal,” Furyk said. “To have a little, small place in history is something you dream of.”
Ryo Ishikawa shot a 58 in The Crowns on the Japan Golf Tour in 2010. Shigeki Maruyama shot a 58 in U.S. Open sectional qualifying in 2000. And just last week, Stephan Jaeger posted a 58 on the Web.com Tour in the Ellie Mae Classic at the TPC Stonebrae.
Furyk is the only player with sub-60 rounds twice. And it would appear that both times, he had to settle for history, not a trophy. He finished third at the 2013 BMW Championship.
The most pressure Furyk felt Sunday was after his final birdie. He still had two par 4s to navigate.
He acknowledged guiding the ball with his drive on 17, where he had hit the water earlier in the week. His approach was 40 feet beyond the flag, but he two-putted for par by making a 4-footer.
His drive on 18 hit the right side of the fairway and his approach left him 29 feet to the right and below the hole. He says the attempt for birdie felt good, but it slid by on the right about 2 feet past the hole. That’s when Furyk knew he had the record.