CROMWELL Conn. — At last week's U.S. Open, Michael Thorbjornsen, playing just miles from his hometown at The Country Club, wanted to be the next Francis Ouimet.
He nearly was, just a week later than anticipated.
The 20-year-old Stanford junior, making his third career Tour start roughly an hour and a half from his hometown, played his way into contention and nearly won on Sunday at the Travelers Championship. He was the only amateur to make the cut, and 36 holes later, after back-to-back 4-under 66s, thousands of fans at TPC River Highlands were chanting his name as he walked off the 18th green after finishing solo fourth, four shots behind champion Xander Schauffele.