Tom Kim of South Korea birdied his final two holes to break away from the pack and secure the first-round lead at the Travelers Championship on Thursday, with Ireland's Seamus Power five off the lead folllowing a strong start in Connecticut.
One day shy of his 22nd birthday, Kim posted an eight-under 62 at TPC River Highlands to build a two-shot cushion over Rickie Fowler, Will Zalatoris, Akshay Bhatia and Kurt Kitayama.
Scottie Scheffler was part of a tie at five-under. The world No 1 credited a tweak in his swing mechanics for helping him get back on track; Thursday ended a six-round streak of failing to break 70.
Power bogeyed the second but recovered with birdies on seven, eight and 10. The Waterford man gave one back on the par-four 12th but two more birdies on 13 and 16 got him home in good nick.
Shane Lowry is two shot further back on one-under after starting with an up-and-down 69 that included three bogeys and four birdies.
As for Kim, five of his birdies came on the back nine, including a 16-footputt at the par-4 10th hole and a 2 1/2-footer following a terrific approachat the par-4 12th. He punctuated his round by converting birdie putts from 14and 7 feet, respectively.
Already a three-time winner on tour, Kim is looking for his first win at asignature event. The Travelers is the tour's last signature event of theregular season, with $20 million in prize money on offer and no 36-hole cutcoming Friday.
Defending champion Keegan Bradley opened with a one-under 69.
