Thorbjornsen in contention at PGA Tour's Travelers Championship

June 25, 2022 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

- Stanford photo

The Stanford rising junior and native of nearby Massachusetts rides a sponsor exemption to get into the mix in Hartford

Michael Thorbjornsen, the Stanford University rising junior from Wellesley, Mass., shot a second-round 65 to easily make the cut and get into contention at the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. In round three on Saturday, he rode a 4-under 66 to an 11-under total for 54 holes, placing him six shots behind leader Xander Schauffele and in a four-way tied for 7th. With a solid closing round, who knows? Here's how Thorbjornsen got into the field. The former U.S. Junior champion received a sponsor exemption into the event, along with fellow amateur Ben James, a top junior player and Virginia commit, as well as newly-turned-professionals Chris Gotterup and Cole Hammer, fresh off of closing his amateur career with a national title at the University of Texas. Thorbjornsen played in last week's U.S. Open in his home state of Massachusetts, but didn't make the 36-hole cut. He had no such problem at TPC River Highlands, opening with a 2-under 68 and following it with his 65 to get to 7 under. He is in a tie for 16th after two rounds and seven off the lead of Xander Schauffele, but only two shots off of second place. James shot 72-69 to miss the cut by three shots. Hammer too missed the cut with rounds of 69-74, while Gotterup shot consecutive 68s to sit in a tie for 33rd. Thorbjornsen will play with Wyndham Clark in the third round. He is the third amateur to make a PGA Tour cut in 2022, joining Keita Nakajima at the Sony Open (41st), and Gotterup who finished an impressive T7 at the Puerto Rico Open. Michael Thorbjornsen profile: Michael Thorbjornsen just completed his sophomore season at Stanford, where he led the Cardinal in scoring average (70.66) and helped the team reach the NCAA Championship. Thorbjornsen won the 2018 U.S. Junior, which earned him a spot in the 2019 U.S. Open, where he made the cut at Pebble Beach as a 17-year-old. He has also qualified for this year’s U.S. Open. Thorbjornsen is from Wellesley, Massachusetts and is the reigning Massachusetts Amateur champion. He is No. 24 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and has been selected to represent Team USA in the prestigious Arnold Palmer Cup next month in Switzerland. --Courtesy Travelers Championship

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