CROMWELL, Conn. — Bubba Watson said different wind conditions and more difficult pin positions made TPC River Highlands a different course Friday.
What remained the same was Watson’s name atop the Travelers Championship leaderboard.
He made three birdies and 15 pars for a 3-under 67 in the second round for a total of 11-under 129. He held a two-stroke advantage over Brian Harman (65 — 131), Brian Stuard (67 — 131) and Carl Pettersson (66 — 131).
“It was windier, gustier coming from a different direction, so it made the golf course tougher, hard to get the ball close,” Watson said. “Tougher pins and more wind, so it makes it tougher to get the ball close.”
Neither these conditions nor the rest of the field could dislodge Watson from his No. 1 position. He has been the outright leader for both rounds. Only two players held the outright lead after each round and won the championship: Gene Litler in 1959 and Tim Norris in 1982.
Seventy one professionals and amateur Jon Rahm (69 — 137) made the cut of 2-under 138 Friday.
Fifteen players are within four shots of Watson. Jason Gore (68), Chris Stroud (67) and Scott Brown (67) are tied for fifth at 132, three shots away from Watson.
Last year’s champ, Kevin Streelman, missed the cut by a stroke.
U.S. SENIOR OPEN
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Tom Watson withstood the scorching heat to shoot a 1-under 69, finishing in a three-way tie atop the bunched leaderboard after the second round of the U.S. Senior Open.
Watson was joined at 5 under for the championship by Jeff Maggert and Peter Fowler. Maggert shot a 65, and Fowler a 66 in their morning rounds.
But all the attention turned to Watson, the 65-year-old Hall of Famer heating up in the sizzling Sacramento sunshine.
Watson made four birdies and three bogeys to provide the drama at sun-drenched Del Paso Country Club, where the temperature soared above 100 degrees again. Watson is trying to become the oldest winner of the event, the oldest to win a senior major and the oldest to win on the Champions Tour.
NW ARKANSAS CHAMPIONSHIP
ROGERS, Ark. — Mi Jung Hur birdied her final five holes to reach 8 under and top the leaderboard in the LPGA Tour’s rain-hampered NW Arkansas Championship.
Hur completed 14 holes before play was suspended because of darkness.
Azahara Munoz birdied six of eight holes in a 6-under 65 for a share of the clubhouse lead. The Spaniard was tied with Brittany Lincicome and Anna Nordqvist at Pinnacle Country Club.
Na Yeon Choi also was 6 under through 14 holes, while Ryann O’Toole finished with a 66.
Top-ranked Inbee Park had a 69, and defending champion Stacy Lewis was 4 under with three holes left.
BMW INTERNATIONAL
MUNICH — Spain’s Rafa Cabrera-Bello shot a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the BMW International Open.
Cabrera-Bello had a 12-under 132 total at Munich Eichenried.
England’s James Morris was second after a 66.
German star Martin Kaymer missed the cut with rounds of 72 and 71.