CROMWELL, Conn. — David Mathis hoped to start strong at the Travelers Championship on Thursday after missing the cut last week in the U.S. Open.
    The 38-year-old Mathis birdied his first hole, then holed out from 158 yards on the par-3 11th hole. He knocked in a 49-foot birdie putt on his third, was at 6-under par after six holes, and fished with a 6-under 64 for a one-shot lead.
    "It was an awesome start," said Mathis, who has never finished better than eighth in a PGA Tour event. "I was hitting a lot of great shots (later), and I guess it felt like a lull compared to how I started."
    Nathan Green, Will Claxton and defending champion Fredrik Jacobson shot 65 on a day that saw temperatures soar into the upper 90s.
    U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson and Masters winner Bubba Watson played together and finished in a group of 10 at 66. The third member of the threesome, PGA champion Keegan Bradley, shot a 68.
    "We were relaxed all day," Simpson said. "Bubba is my Presidents Cup partner. We always laugh together. And I've played a lot of golf with Keegan this year. He's a good friend. We had a lot of fun feeding off each other, and luckily, we all played well."
    Mathis' ace was the shot of the day. He said he was just trying to cut a nine iron close to the pin and hit it exactly where he aimed.
    "It kind of bounced and stumbled right and went right in the hole," he said.
    Green teed off at 6:50 a.m., well before heat and humidity set in, setting the early mark with a 65. Claxton opened his round with a birdie and an eagle, but finished with a bogey on 18.
    "To start out birdie-eagle, that's huge," Claxton said. "I obviously had the driver going. I drove the ball well today. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be."