Travelers notebook: James misses cut, makes memories

Jun. 25—CROMWELL — The thought of making the cut in his debut PGA Tour event first entered Ben James' mind after he drained a three-foot birdie putt on the 429-yard par-4 1st, his 10th hole of the day, to improve to even par for the Travelers Championship.

The possibility crossed his mind again after he notched back-to-back birdies on the 228-yard par-3 5th and 596-yard par-5 6th to climb back to even par after carding bogeys on the two previous holes.

But the 19-year-old from Milford hit a wayward drive on the 452-yard par-4 7th, which led to a bogey and missed birdie putts on the 206-yard par-3 8th and 396-yard par-4 9th left him over the cut line at 1-over-par 141 for the tournament.

James, a recent graduate of Hamden Hall, shot a 2-over 72 in the opening round and a 1-under 69 on Friday.

His 36-hole total matched former Masters and Travelers champion Jordan Spieth and beat Rickie Fowler (143), Joaquin Niemann (143), and Jason Day (145).

"Yeah, I thought I was going to do it," James said. "After birdieing No. 1, which was my 10th hole, I was thinking right there I could get another chance, and then after I made back-to-back birdies on 5 and 6, and then had a really horrible break on 7 and made two fine pars coming in, but it's golf."

James, the No. 1 player in the Rolex AJGA and Junior Golf rankings, received a sponsor's exemption from the Travelers Championship to play in the event. He will begin his freshman year at the University of Virginia in the fall.

James played in the 2019 U.S. Junior Presidents Cup and 2021 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup and won his third consecutive Northern Junior Tournament in August 2021. Two weeks ago, he missed a 10-foot birdie putt in a sudden-death playoff for a berth into the U.S. Open.

The following morning, he received a call from Travelers tournament director Nathan Grube offering a sponsor's exemption into the event.

James holed a 40-foot shot from the front right bunker on the 174-yard par-3 16th for birdie to make the turn at 1-under 69 Friday. He stuck his tee shot on the 5th to two feet and tapped it in for birdie then drained another 2-footer for birdie on the 6th to move to 2-under on the day.

But his tee shot on the 7th landed in one of the three bunkers guarding the right side of the fairway. The steep front lip of the trap prevented him from reaching the green, so he had to lay up. He hit his third shot to 13 feet, but missed the par putt.

A group of family and teammates, classmates and staff at Hamden Hall, including Keith Kaliszewski, the school's golf coach, were in the gallery and gave James a boisterous round of applause after he closed his round with a two-put par from 26 feet on the 9th.

"It was phenomenal having all the crowds out there supporting me. Really special, and just so blessed to have the opportunity to be here and be playing the game I love," James said. "My family doesn't come out to too many because they're not really from here. So it's really special having them around and having their support. I mean, it's so cool."

Fluent English

Harris English struggled on the greens at the Memorial Tournament and at the U.S. Open earlier this month, so he elected to change the grip on his putter for the Travelers Championship, returning to the same model that he used to win the eight-hole playoff against Kramer Hickok at last year's event.

The change has paid immediate dividends, as English poured in seven birdies and made over 141 feet of putts in Friday's second round en route to a 5-under-par 65 to propel him into a tie for second place at 9-under 131 heading into the weekend.

"I feel like the putter has heated up this week," said English, a four-time winner on tour. "Putted well last year. That was the strength of my game. Worked on putting a good bit the last few days and it's showing. Made a lot of long putts, and makes the game a lot easier when you do that."

English had used the Ping Palm Lock putter grip for close to 10 years when someone called to ask that it be inspected two hours before his singles match against Lee Westwood at the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits last fall.

A rules official found the grip to be non-conforming due to the frayed cloth at the end of the club, so U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III cut off the offending piece of cloth with a knife and it was approved for play.

He was forced to abandon the grip soon after.

"Tried to play with it in Vegas (at the Shriners Children's Open in October) and it was deemed damaged, I couldn't play with it," English said. "So, I took it off, put another grip on that I played with years ago trying to switch it up a little bit."

English returned to competitive golf in June from Valentine's Day surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip and missed the cut in his first event, the Memorial Tournament. He tied for 61st at the U.S. Open two weeks later.

It was then that English decided to reinstall the Ping Palm Lock grip.

"Just hadn't really putted that great," English said. "Streaky putting and put the new Ping grip on this week and it's worked out so far."

Ellington Ridge represented

Two of the four men who earned bids into the Travelers Championship field through the Ellington Ridge qualifying tournament are sticking around for the weekend.

Conrad Shindler shot a 4-under 66 on Friday to post a two-day total of 4-under 136. He birdied the 12th, 13th, 17th and 18th to make the turn at 4-under 31. He bogeyed the 429-yard par-4 1st but rebounded with a birdie at the 488-yard par-4 4th to finish two shots clear of the cut line.

Ben Silverman shot a 2-under 68 on Friday to post a two-day total of 2-under 138. He notched birdies on the 390-yard par-4 12th, the 411-yard par-4 14th, the 2nd and the 9th holes, and bogeys on the 438-yard par-4 3rd and 271-yard par-4 15th.

Patrick Flavin shot a 1-under 69 on Thursday, but stumbled to a 1-over 71 on day two to miss the cut by two shots. Bo Hoag followed an even par 70 on day one with a 6-over 76 Friday to finish at 6-over.

LIV golfers punished

The DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour, announced it has fined and suspended league members who participated in the inaugural LIV Golf series event earlier this month.

The first event on the Saudi-backed tour took place at the Centurion Club in London from June 9-11.

The golfers who participated in that event, including Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Richard Martin Kaymer, Ian Poulter, and Graeme McDowell, will be fined $125,000 and be suspended from participating in the Genesis Scottish Open, the Barbasol Championship and the Barracuda Championship next month.

Every action anyone takes in life comes with a consequence and it is no different in professional sport, especially if a person chooses to break the rules. That is what has occurred here with several of our members," DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley said in a statement announcing the news Friday.

The DP World Tour also announced that future participation in the LIV Golf series, without the required release, could incur further sanctions.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan previously suspended 17 players who violated Tour rules by competing in the LIV debut event.

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