The rains came to the Hartford area around 12:30 on Saturday. Thanks to the meteorological skills of the PGA Tour’s advance planners, the golfers were gone from the greens by noon-thirty. Using split tees from seven to nine am, all those who made the cut were able to complete 18 holes on what was essentially Saturday morning. It was like a British Open, in terms of the time for the USA, and almost for the weather.

Before we get to the five things we learned on half-Saturday, here’s a bonus one: don’t bet this house. My predictions from Friday were as wretched as the afternoon weather, so bad that they are laughable. We’ll take a look at some of them, blended with the news of the day. That written (and read), here are the five things that we learned on Saturday at the Travelers.

1. Dustin Johnson did not exit

This prognosticator nominated Johnson as Most likely to make a Saturday exit. Well, nah. The big, bearded one had nine birdies and nine pars, for a cool 61. He had four on the front and five on the back. He reached 16-under par and secured a spot in Sunday’s final threesome. He’ll walk ’round with Brendon Todd (the leader) and Kevin Streelman (the next chaser.) Todd’s round mirrored Johnson’s; the Georgian had five birdies on the front and four on the back. If you have a rotten memory, let’s refresh Todd in November of last year. Two wins in consecutive weeks, with an almost-third a week later. The magic hasn’t left just yet, although this one will be a tough one to secure. As for Streelman, six years have passed since his second and last win. For a deep refresh, that win came at this event, and he closed it out with seven consecutive birdies. Hot time on the old town on Sunday, for sure!

2. Phil played like phifty

The Phil prediction was embedded in a paragraph, and not a separate line of its own. It basically suggested that the lefthander, who recently joined the AARP crowd, was most likely to do good things on Saturday. Instead, he did meh things. Two birdies, three bogeys, abandoned by his putter, six shots behind the leaders. What’s left for Phil? Go low on Sunday and take 3 of 4 away from this week. He ain’t winning; he would need 59 on Sunday to have a shot. Someone will reach at least 20 or 21-under par for the week, and Phil will need super-low to match that. Will Gordon, paired with Mickelson, played like a Will Gordon should. He made far too many mistakes (four bogies and a double) to counteract any number of birdies (five on the day) he could possibly attain. Gordon would have needed the nine birdies that Johnson and Todd each made, in order to remain relevant. The experience he took away from Saturday was valuable; what’s left for him is the same as what’s left for Phil. In Gordon’s case, a big check will mean a lot more.

3. Ancer not the answer

It’s not that Abraham Ancer played poorly on shortened Saturday. He was in position through nine holes, at four-under on the day. Then, the game left him, and he played the first four holes on the back in plus-two. Zoinks! Ancer recovered with two birdies coming home, but his 66 that should have been a 63 or 64, left him at 12-under par.

4. Two guys that proved me a bit right

Guess what a 60 gets you? A two-day pass. Mackenzie Hughes was less than brilliant again, but he held it together for best round in the final group and will tee off in the penultimate threesome with Bryson DeChambeau and Kevin Na. That ridiculous 60 that Hughes posted on Thursday was his ticket to contention on Sunday. On Saturday, Hughes was kinda like Nick Faldo in a British Open. He had 2 birdies and 16 pars. He’s not making mistakes, which leads me to believe that he just might pull it off on Sunday. If he finds the birdie machine on Sunday, the Maple Leaf might fly over Cromwell, Connecticut.

The other, fulfilled prediction was Bryson, as Most likely to paint the round for what it was.  One quote, making the rounds in golf journalism, involves his aspiration to be the house in gambling parlance. As we know, the house always wins. Whether it is his golf e.q. or his physics i.q., Bryson finds driving lines that no one else does, and he proceeds to hit them. Being 3o yards longer off the tee, thanks to being built like a brick house, compels him to move into a different echelon of thinker and planner. Will there be enough fairway for his line? If not, plan B.

Want more honesty from BD? Try this: Yeah, like today there was plenty of shots where I had these massive jumpers and I don’t understand them one bit. We don’t understand, they come out randomly, and those are things that kind of dumbfound me, and that’s golf. If I could figure that out, I’d be that much closer to figuring out the game. That will never happen.

One more for the road from BD: I’ve slowed down a little bit because I’m guiding it with the driver right now, not 100 percent confident with it, but I’m working hard to figure out what I had at Colonial and RBC. It’s not bad, obviously; it’s just not exactly where I want it where I can get up on the tee box and let it go and know it’s going straight.

5. Day four predictions

Most likely to win on Sunday: Kevin Na. Such an edgy competitor. Should have been picked by Tiger for Team USA at the President’s Cup last fall. I’m predicting a 62 for 21-under par. Hey-hey-hey … Goodbye!

Most likely to post best round from final trio: Kevin Streelman. He’ll be the forgotten one, for sure. He’ll post 64 and enter a playoff with Na, but will miss out by a hair.

Most likely to get a bad break: Bryson DeChambeau. Don’t know why and don’t know where, but it’s coming.

The numbers game: Time to go out on a limb and call it as I don’t see (because you know what happens when I soothsay!)

Todd: 71 for 17-under
Johnson: 68 for 18-under
Streelman: 64 for 21-under
DeChambeau: 67 for 16-under
Na: 62 for 21-under and the win in overtime
Hughes: 65 for 19-under