'Reservist' No Seung-yeol 7th Place, 6 Strokes Behind... Todd Leads

Travelers Championship Day 2: Johnson Chases from 2nd at 4 Under Par, DeChambeau Tied for 5th

No Seung-yeol is teeing off on the 18th hole on the third day of the Travelers Championship. Cromwell, Connecticut, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] 'Reservist' No Seung-yeol (29) makes a moving day spurt.

On the 28th (Korean time), at the River Highlands TPC in Cromwell, Connecticut, USA (Par 70, 6,841 yards), during the third day of the PGA Tour Travelers Championship (total prize money $7.4 million), he shot 4-under par to rise to a tie for 7th place (12-under par 198). Brendan Todd surged with 9-under par to take the top spot on the leaderboard (18-under par 192), while world No. 6 Dustin Johnson (both from the USA) is chasing in second place, 2 strokes behind (16-under par 194).

No Seung-yeol made 4 birdies on holes 1, 2, 7, and 18. His pinpoint iron shots, missing the green only twice, stood out. He is 6 strokes behind the leader, creating a chance to enter the 'top 10' for the first time in 3 years and 1 month since tying for 5th at the Wells Fargo Championship in May 2017. He is the player who won the Zurich Classic in April 2014. He enlisted in November 2017 and served as a full-time reservist for 1 year and 8 months before being discharged in August last year.

He made his comeback at the American Express in January but suffered the humiliation of missing the cut in four consecutive tournaments. It is interesting that No Seung-yeol reorganized his lineup while the PGA Tour was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From Korea, Kim Si-woo (25) and Kang Sung-hoon (33) are tied for 27th place (8-under par 202), Ahn Byung-hoon (29) is tied for 49th (5-under par 205), and Im Sung-jae (22, all from CJ Logistics) is tied for 61st (3-under par 207).

Locally, the spotlight is on Johnson's battle for the championship. Using his maximum 334-yard long drives, he collected 9 birdies. It is noteworthy that he has won at least one tournament every year since the 2008 Turning Stone Resort Championship, reaching a total of 20 career wins. He is poised to continue his winning streak into his 13th season. 'The Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau (USA) also added 5-under par to settle in a tie for 5th place (13-under par 197).

Meanwhile, veteran Phil Mickelson (USA), who started as the leader, faltered with 1-over par and dropped to a tie for 7th. On the 13th hole (par 5), his greenside bunker shot topped the ball, resulting in an out-of-bounds (OB) penalty, shaking his short game, which is his main weapon. 'Number 1' Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) is in a similar situation. His iron shot green hit rate dropped sharply to 61.11%, and he barely managed to reduce one stroke, remaining tied for 18th place (10-under par 200).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.