CROMWELL, Connecticut: Scottie Scheffler had one of those rare rounds where he hit a shot so pure it makes his confidence soar. So many other shots were pretty good, too, and they added to an 8-under 62 to share the lead Thursday with Austin Eckroat in the Travelers Championship.

The week after a rough-and-tumble US Open was a welcome break for so many at the TPC River Highlands, even with the rough just as long (but not quite as thick) as soaked Oakmont.

Rory McIlroy played bogey-free for a 66 and didn’t look to break too much of a sweat.

“This is a nice tonic compared to last week in terms of it’s a slightly more benign golf course and the penalty for missing isn’t quite as severe,” McIlroy said.

Scheffler faced the hot afternoon when a refreshing breeze turned into a strong wind, and he wasted no time getting in the mix with four birdies in six holes and a 30 on the front nine.

And then came the par-5 13th, 236 yards away into the wind, over a pond to a pin on the right. It was perfect — that’s coming from golf’s No. 1 player — and settled 10 feet away for birdie.

“That 3-iron I hit in there was really nice,” Scheffler said. “It was pretty much exactly what I was trying to do. It was kind of one where I had to hit it really solid in order to get it there with the water short, and I just did pretty much exactly what I wanted to and it felt nice.”

McIlroy was at 64 along with Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark. Another shot back was Cameron Young. He was in the mix late on Sunday at Oakmont, and started the Travelers Championship by going from the rough to the bunker, and then a three-putt from 25 feet for a double bogey.

“I managed to get around Oakmont for four days with no doubles and I made it zero holes here,” Young said. “Typically that’s not kind of what you expect around here.”

Not to worry. He followed with eight birdies in a day with a new routine. His caddie went down with a stomach virus and the best option was to turn the bag over to his father, Dave Young, recently retired as the longtime pro at Sleepy Hollow.

The surprise was Eckroat, already a two-time winner on the PGA Tour but struggling so much this year that he has only two finishes in the top 20 and eight missed cuts. The last two weeks served him well, however, as Eckroat said he figured out how to eliminate the miss to the left.

He played the last six holes in 5-under par, starting with a 35-foot eagle putt on No. 13.

“I wasn’t fearing the left ball today, which is huge, and then whenever you’re feeling comfortable with other things, other things start to fall in line,” Eckroat said. “Felt great over the putter, and just a really solid day, and I felt confident, which it was nice to feel that this season. It’s been a while.”

US Open champion J.J. Spaun felt the fatigue, and the steamy heat didn’t help the cause. Playing along Scheffler, he was hanging in there until it took him two chips and two putts to cover 40 feet for a double bogey on No. 12, and a bogey-bogey finish for a 73.

Jordan Spieth didn’t even make it to the finish line. This was the first time Spieth didn’t need a sponsor exemption for a $20 million signature event, and he only lasted 13 holes when his shoulder blade got tight on the range, spread across the back of his neck to the other side and left him no choice but to withdraw.

Scheffler saying he hit a great shot is worth paying attention to because it doesn’t happen very often. He rarely hits it offline. But this was something special.

“Hit it really solid and really straight, just barely right of the pin, and kept it nice flat flight, get it to go through the wind, and it was good,” he said.

In fact, he could only recall two other shots in recent years — a 6-iron on the fifth hole in the final round at the 2022 Masters, a 9-iron he hit on the par-3 third hole in the final round of the 2023 Players Championship.

“Those are shots that kind of get lost in terms of the tournament,” he said. “I’m not even sure if I birdied No. 3 at The Players, and I know I didn’t birdie No. 5 during the Masters. But those are the shots when you’re playing and you’re in the moment, those are the ones that give me a lot of confidence.”

It’s hard to imagine him needing much more of that. He hasn’t finished out of the top 10 since The Players in March, a stretch of eight tournaments. He didn’t hit the ball very well for two days at the US Open and still had an outside chance on the back nine

And in his 19th round at the TPC River Highlands, he posted his lowest score at 62.

INDIANAPOLIS: The Indiana Pacers did not let another home-court opportunity slip away Thursday night.

Not with a raucous crowd on its feet almost from start to finish, not with Reggie Miller and nearly a dozen former Pacers cheering them on and certainly not with the first NBA title in franchise just two wins away.

So the Pacers dug down, fought through injuries and finally played their way. They knocked down 3-pointers, forced turnovers and had the heavily gold-clad crowd doing high-fives between the third and fourth quarters as Indiana extended its season with a 108-91 victory over the the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The winner-take-all Game 7 is Sunday night in Oklahoma City.

This wasn’t just a win-or-go-home scenario for the Pacers.

They’ve been motivated all season by the bitter memories of losing their last two home games by three points each in the 2024 Eastern Conference finals as the injured Tyrese Haliburton watched helplessly from the sideline. Boston used that four-game sweep to fuel its record 18th title run.

And they blew a seven-point lead in the final 11 minutes of Game 3, giving away the home-court advantage they stole on Haliburton’s last-second winner in Game 1.

This time, it wasn’t even close.

Indiana took control midway through the second quarter and spent the rest of the night pulling away as a smattering of Oklahoma City fans watched glumly.

Sure, one difference was Haliburton’s ability to overcome the strained right calf that made him so ineffective in the Game 5 loss that put Indiana on the cusp of elimination.

But after convincing team trainers he could play and still be effective, the Pacers rebounded from missing their first eight shots to make 8 of the next 10. Then, as usual, it was off to the races.

Indiana forced 12 first-half turnovers, outscoring the Thunder 16-3 on fast break and 19-3 in bench points while using 11-0 and 6-0 to extend the margin to 64-42 at halftime. Defensively, they were even better in the second half.

Though they didn’t force as many turnovers, they held the Thunder scoreless more than five minutes while forcing seven straight misses to start the third quarter — working the crowd into a frenzy as they rolled to a 70-42 lead.

Miller flailed his arms in the air in a Jalen Rose jersey. Metta World Peace waved a towel and Lance Stephenson repeatedly pumped his fists. Even John Haliburton, Tyrese’s father, cherished the moment.

But finishing their home season with a win is only the first part of the equation. Now they must go on the road and replicate what they just did if they are to achieve their ultimate goal — winning a title.

***

Thunder fans expecting to celebrate NBA title see hopes dashed

In Oklahoma City, fans who confidently flocked to the Paycom Center expecting to celebrate the Thunder’s first NBA championship on Thursday night went home facing the possibility that their team might not win the title.

Thousands of fans with high hopes filed into Oklahoma City’s home arena to watch on the big screen.

Instead, Indiana rolled to a 108-91 win, and now Thunder’s passionate fans will wait anxiously for Game 7 on Sunday in Oklahoma City.

The lower two levels at the Paycom Center were nearly filled before the tip, and the big screen was lowered for a better view. The crowd roared early when Jalen Williams dunked to give Oklahoma City an 8-2 lead.

Indiana dominated from there and led 64-42 at halftime.

Fans remained hopeful, but the energy dissipated when the Thunder failed to score for the first five minutes of the third quarter. The crowd gained some hope when Tony Bradley was called for a technical foul against Isaiah Hartenstein.

Indiana maintained control, and fans finally started to file out after Ben Sheppard hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the third to put the Pacers up 90-60. Those who stayed stood and cheered as time ran out.

It’s been a long wait for Thunder fans. The city first hosted an NBA team during the 2005-06 season, when the New Orleans Hornets relocated after Hurricane Katrina. Oklahoma City’s fans fell in love with the team and young point guard Chris Paul, who would be named rookie of the year.

The Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008, and Oklahoma City’s fans feverishly supported their new team despite its early struggles. The Thunder had contending teams with young stars Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

Even with all that talent, they couldn’t break through. They lost to LeBron James’ Miami Heat in the NBA Finals in 2012. Durant left for the rival Golden State Warriors in 2016. A team with Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony couldn’t get out of the first round.

The end of Oklahoma City’s misfortune seemed to have arrived this season, when the Thunder had the league’s best record. Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander helped the Thunder put the Pacers on the brink of elimination with wins in Games 4 and 5. Now, the misery will continue if Oklahoma City doesn’t win Game 7.