Travelers Championship: Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele blitz TPC River Highlands to set up a Sunday shootout with leader Tom Kim... leaving Cam Young's 59 in the dust

Cameron Young bolted into the co-lead with an explosive 11-under 59 during the third round of the Travelers Championship but even he knew it wouldn’t last long.

'It could be anywhere from two to 10, who knows,' Young answered when asked how far back he thought he could be Sunday.

Finally, at 8:35pm, Young got his answer: Five.

Young may have set the blistering pace but four hours after he began his conquest of TPC River Highlands, the leaders were quick out of the gate and it was neck and neck… and neck and neck and neck.

Tom Kim had toasted his birthday with the 36-hole lead Friday. On Saturday, he ensured the party would continue into the final round - but this time, he will have fellow birthday boy Scottie Scheffler hunting him down. 

Scheffler, Akshay Bhatia, Xander Schauffe and Sungjae Im forced their way into Kim's celebrations atop a clustered leaderboard following an explosive third round. 

But Kim, who had led since the opening round, refused to relinquish his lead to the threat of his pursuers. He bounced back from an early bogey on the fourth - his first of the tournament - with six birdies to establish a one-shot lead heading into a Sunday showdown.

The hunting pack bled TPC River Highlands dry of birdies as they chased down Kim’s leading 18-under, unfathomably leaving Young and his 59 in the dust.

At 1:30pm ET, a full 30 minutes before the overnight leader took to the first tee, Young strode off the 18th green as the 13th player in the history of the PGA Tour to break 60 - and the new co-leader.

With seven birdies, two eagles, a testy par-putt on the last and not a single bogey in sight, Young shot an 11-under 59 and clawed his way into a tie of Kim's 36-hole 13-under lead.

But he admitted his blistering 59 may have come a little too late with Kim and Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and Bhatia at 11-under all yet to take their own shot at TPC River Highlands.

By the time the klaxon sounded at 3:30pm ET with inclement weather once again rocking Connecticut, Kim was only six holes into his round, Bhatia and Scheffler seven, but Young already one shot back.

Young was granted a slight reprieve from the assault on his clubhouse lead. Dangerous weather swept through Cromwell, which saw two spectators taken to hospital after being struck by lightning, and granted Young three hours longer to enjoy his moment at the top of the leaderboard before Kim and co. sent him toppling.

If the morning heat saw Young and his fellow early risers plunder the baked greens of TPC River Highlands for birdies, the softer fairways and playing surfaces left behind by the torrential downpour surrendered them freely.

It was a surrender that Scheffler and Schauffele gladly accepted with little mercy.

Two back-nine bogeys were the lone blemishes on the World No. 1’s card as he rattled off four consecutive birdies to finish for a six-under 64, which was matched by playing partner Bhatia for a share of 17-under second.

Schauffele had been the last on the range as the players were chauffeured back to their respective holes for the restart but once he ultimately returned to the ninth fairway, he bolted off with a birdie three on the par-four.

The PGA Championship winner clawed three more birdies from the claws of the Connecticut course to add to the three he’d sunk before the heavens opened.

The California native admitted he had been in ‘denial’ about feeling worn out amid his recent hot stretch of golf but there was no sign of fatigue as he engaged Kim and Scheffler in a duel around the back nine.

However, he stumbled at the finishing line as a lone bogey on the last knocked him back to a tie of fourth alongside Im at 16-under. It scuppered his chance to join Sunday’s final grouping with the players set to head out in trios for the last round in an attempt to combat another threat of weather.

Meanwhile, Morikawa, who played alongside Kim, couldn’t quite conquer TPC River Highlands as he had the day before but his four-under 66 still sealed solo sixth, three shots back of the leader and one shot ahead of Tony Finau, Shane Lowry and Justin Thomas.

It had been Morikawa who had predicted Friday that scores could double over the weekend, a prophecy that was fulfilled by Kim and co. 24 hours later.

Kim may have ensured that he maintained his wire-to-wire lead but with Scheffler, Bhatia and Schauffele hot on his heels, New England is set to witness a Sunday shootout and Keegan Bradley’s winning 23-under from last year is well and truly in the firing line.