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Brendan Steele watches his birdie putt miss on the 18th hole in Cromwell, Conn., on Thursday.

CROMWELL, Connecticut: Brendan Steele shot an 8-under 62 in the morning session to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Travelers Championship.

Steele opened with an eagle, holing a 129-yard wedge shot in the rain. He birdied six of the next 12 holes at TPC River Highlands, and closed the bogey-free round with five straight pars.

Steele finished two shots off the course record set by Patrick Cantlay in 2011 as an amateur.

“On 14, I started to think 59, which is probably why I slowed down a little bit,” Steele said.

Bud Cauley and Ryan Moore shot 63, and Chad Campbell, Joe Durant, Scott Langley, Eric Axley and Jeff Maggert followed at 64.

Patrick Rodgers and Cameron Wilson made their pro debuts, with Rodgers shooting a 66, and Wilson a 73.

Two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton, coming off a second-place tie in the US Open, shot a 74.

Steele and Cauley went out in a steady rain Thursday morning, but by noon the sun had broken through.

“It took the rain pretty well,” said Masters champion Bubba Watson, who shot a 67 and was among 75 players to break par. “It’s kind of soft, but not too windy, so you can score around it.”

But nobody could catch Steele, who is shooting for his third top-10 finish this season after failing to qualify for the US Open. He instead watched from the stands as his favorite hockey team, the Los Angeles Kings, won the Stanley Cup.

Steele changed putters during the second round of US Open qualifying and said that decision to go from long to short has been paying off. He needed just 26 putts Thursday.

“Speed control is a lot better,” he said.

Cauley started on the back nine and got his round going on the signature 15th hole.
He avoided the woods on the right and put his tee shot within 20 feet, then made the eagle putt.

“With that pin back right, if you hit it right, that’s obviously not where you want to be, and obviously there’s water left,” he said. “So I hit that right where I was trying to and rolled it up there and capitalized with the putt.”

Campbell was at 7 under until he hit it into the water on the same hole.

Moore, who has four top-10 finishes in eight starts at this tournament, credited his 63 to a decision not to practice after a poor round in the pro-am Wednesday.

“I was relaxed and comfortable and just went out and played golf today instead of overdoing it and over-thinking it, which I feel like I’ve maybe done a little lately,” Moore said. “I’ve been practicing too much.”

Trevor Immelman had the shot of the day, making a double eagle from 246 yards on the par-5 13th hole. He used a 3-wood and cleared a green-side water hazard.

“The main thing is to keep it dry,” he said. “You got to get it over there, and it came out pretty good and started rolling.”

Immelman also had three bogeys in his round of 68.

Defending champion Ken Duke opened with a 65.

Louis Oosthuizen withdrew after seven holes because of back issues.

Brendan Steele watches his birdie putt miss on the 18th hole during the first round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament in Cromwell, Conn., Thursday. Steele finished the round at 8-under par, 62.

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