Hartford favourite Jerry Kelly shares Travelers lead

Jerry Kelly, Vaughn Taylor and Andrew Loupe are tied at six-under par to share the lead after the first round of the Travelers Championship.

CROMWELL, Conn. — Jerry Kelly played off the emotion of what he considers a home crowd Thursday in the Travelers Championship, shooting a 6-under 64 for a share of the lead with Vaughn Taylor and Andrew Loupe.

The 49-year-old Kelly played at the nearby University of Hartford. Headed to the PGA Tour Champions after this season, Kelly won the last of his three PGA Tour titles in 2009.

Loupe and Taylor went out early, when relatively soft greens and little wind helped the scoring.

The biggest galleries of the day showed up to watch U.S. Olympians Bubba Watson (67), Matt Kuchar (69) and Patrick Reed (70). They went out as a trio and were serenaded with chants of "USA! USA!"

Nick Taylor, of Abbotsford, B.C., is tied for 24th after an opening round 68 while fellow Abbotsford native Adam Hadwin finished with a 70. Derek Gillespie (72), of Oshawa, Ont., is at 2 over.

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