Spieth still atop Travelers
Shoots 69 before wind picks up; Day misses cut
Jordan Spieth played well enough in the second round of the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn., to stay in the lead. Rory McIlroy played just well enough to stay in the tournament.
Spieth shot a 1-under 69 Friday morning, then watched as a windy afternoon kept anyone from overtaking him.
The conditions also kept fourth-ranked Jason Day from making the cut for a second week in a row. He bogeyed the 18th for a 70 to finish at 2 over. No. 3 McIlroy shot a 73, also closing with a bogey, but managed to just sneak into the weekend at even par.
Spieth, who began the day one shot ahead after a firstround 63, started on the back nine. He had to recover from a double bogey on the par-5 13th hole after hitting his tee shot left and out-ofbounds. He also had four birdies and a bogey to reach 8 under.
“We’ve been kind of far behind in a lot of the events in making comeback runs,” said Spieth, the two-time major champion who tied for 35th last week in the U.S. Open. “But being able to be toward the front of the pack on a Saturday afternoon is a beautiful position to be in and one that we’ll certainly embrace. I’m going to try to have a lot of fun this weekend.”
Patrick Reed (66) and Troy Merritt (68) were tied for second. Both fought off wind gusts that exceeded 20 mph to hit 11 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens.
“A golf course like this, even when the wind is blowing, if you’re hitting your tee shots straight, you’re going to have some wedges into the greens,” Reed said.
U. S. Open champion Brooks Koepka isn’t in Connecticut this week, but former Florida State teammate Chase Seiffert is in contention. Seiffert, 25, had to qualify Monday to get into the tournament. He made two eagles Friday and finished with a 66 to reach 6 under. Wesley Bryan (67), Daniel Summerhays (68) and Boo Weekley (68) also were 5 under.
Other tournaments
American Family Insurance Open: Paul Broadhurst shot a 9-under 63 to take a two-stroke lead in the PGA Tour Champions event in Madison, Wis. Broadhurst, of England, had an eagle and seven birdies — three on his final four holes — at University Ridge. He won the Senior British Open and PURE Insurance Championship in 2016. Brian Henninger had a 65, and tournament host Steve Stricker joined Kenny Perry and Billy Andrade at 66.
BMW International Open: Joakim Lagergren and Joel Stalter took the lead in Munich at 9 under at the midway point, one stroke ahead of former champions Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson. Lagergren (66) had eight birdies and two bogeys for a 6 under in the second round. Stalter (68) soon joined him for a share of the lead. Both are bidding for their first European Tour title. Garcia (70) was on course for the lead but bogeys on the 14th and 17th set the reigning Masters champion back before he finished with his fourth birdie.