CROMWELL, Conn. — Davis Riley was the last in the field and the first to tee off in the opening round of the Travelers Championship on Thursday.

An alternate, Riley received a call on Wednesday saying there had been two or three withdrawals from the pro-am. He thought there might’ve been a bug going around, so he figured he’d book a flight to Connecticut from his home in Dallas just in case he was called on to enter the field. Riley was relatively familiar with the alternate process, having been in the same situation but not getting the call at The Memorial in May.

“I was like, you know what, I might as well just go up there because if I don’t go up there and I get in, I would be pretty mad at myself. So I just wanted to be here just in case that were the circumstances,” he said.

Riley arrived at TPC River Highlands around 6:30 a.m. ET Thursday morning and started an “easy-going” warmup, just in case. He found out he was in the field at 7:15 a.m., replacing Brian Campbell, who had a shoulder injury, and was paired with Bud Cauley in the first group, which was set to tee off just 45 minutes later.

“These are really good tournaments with really good fields and a lot to play for, so you kind of think guys aren’t going to back out. But I was like, you know what, I would be mad if I was sitting at home and I were to get in,” Riley said. “I gave myself plenty of time, and it worked out perfectly.”

He made birdies on his first three holes of the day and finished at 4-under-par 66, good for the eight-way tie at seventh on the leaderboard, four shots back of leaders Scottie Scheffler and Austin Eckroat.

The round was Riley’s second-best in Cromwell, where he has participated in the last three Travelers Championship events. His best round was during the second day of the 2023 event, when he shot 7-under-par 63 before ultimately finishing in a tie for 45th.

“I had played here, I think, three or four times, so that certainly helped,” he said. “My biggest concern starting the round was getting the speed of the greens just because you’re practicing at home and played the U.S. Open last week so you don’t know how similar or whatever they’re going to be. So that was my primary concern. I just tried to really focus on being cognizant of when I hit the putts, how much they were rolling out. Even when I missed them, just being aware of what the speed is like and I feel like that translated well.”

Young settles in after ‘terrible start’

Coming off of his fourth-place finish at the U.S. Open at the Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, Cameron Young started his day missing a 3-foot putt and making double bogey on the par-4, 434-yard first hole.

“I got off to a pretty terrible start. I managed to get around Oakmont for four days with no doubles and I made it zero holes here,” he said. “That’s what you expect around here. The scoring is typically pretty low. It’s a windy day and it’s thicker rough than I’ve seen, so I’m not surprised the scoring is a little bit higher than usual.”

With the help of his dad, David Young, who filled in for sick caddie Kyle Sterbinsky, Young responded immediately with a birdie on No. 2. He accumulated eight birdies over the course of his round and went into the clubhouse at 5-under 65.

“I feel like just the routine with my dad caddying and taking my stuff and putting it back in the locker and having a couple extra minutes on the tee, everything was just a little bit off from our typical routine,” Young said. “I think I got to the first tee just not settled into the day yet. As soon as I missed the putt for 5, I felt totally fine. I just kind of put my head down, and at that point it was a little bit easier just to go do what I need to do.”

Clark apologizes for Oakmont outburst

Wyndham Clark, the 2023 U.S. Open winner, apologized on Thursday for his outburst at Oakmont last week that left significant damage to his locker after he missed the Open cut. Oakmont reportedly has lockers that date back to the club’s opening in 1904.

“I’ve had a lot of highs and lows in my career, especially this year, some lows. I made a mistake that I deeply regret. I’m very sorry for what happened. But I’d also like to move on, not only for myself but for Oakmont, for the USGA, and kind of focus on the rest of this year and things that come up,” Clark said after finishing his first round at 6-under 64.

Spieth withdraws for first time ever

Jordan Spieth, the 2017 Travelers champion, withdrew when he was on the 13th hole after feeling tightness in his neck and his upper back that got progressively worse after his warmup. It was his first career withdrawal in 297 PGA Tour starts.

“It just became too much. I didn’t see it turning around until probably Saturday,” he said. “These things kind of last an extra day, and no matter what I was going to do, it was just going to be — I don’t know, it’s unfortunate. I’ve been doing everything right, and I think it was just very random. I may have just slept wrong and then something came along. I don’t know what caused it.

“It’s a bummer at this event, obviously.”

Notes

NFL insider Adam Schefter made his debut as a golf reporter on Thursday and was tasked with following Rory McIlroy and Keegan Bradley around for the ESPN main feed and the ESPN+ Marquee Group broadcast. “It was a thrill to meet him and have him out there,” Bradley said. … Luke Clanton, 21-years-old and the newest pro in the field having made his debut in January, was one of four sponsor’s exemptions. He finished at 3-under 67. … Other sponsor’s exemptions: Gary Woodland and Tom Kim, who forced a playoff with Scottie Scheffler last year, also shot 3-under while Rickie Fowler finished even par.

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