The Daily Wrap-up: Round 2, Travelers Championship

text size

Rogash/Getty Images

Kenny Perry is 11 under at the Travelers Championship and holds the lead in the suspended second round.

Jun. 26, 2009

CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) -- Kenny Perry followed up his opening 61 with a 68 Friday and held on to a two-stroke lead when thunderstorms halted the second round of the Travelers Championship.

RELATED LINKS

Leaderboard: Rd. 2 scores

Tee times
The Live Report: Round 2
Scorecard: Kenny Perry
Interview: Kenny Perry
More interview transcripts

VIDEO

Second-round highlights
Shot of the Day
LIVE@ Highlights

Perry, who tied the course record Thursday, said he actually hit the ball better on Friday, but lost his touch with the putter. He had just three birdies despite hitting 16 greens.

"What I felt was the right speed was always short, and then when I tried to hit it, I couldn't stroke it," he said. "I was hitting the putt, then I was blowing it right through the break."

He and the rest of the morning golfers played through off-and-on showers that slowed already soft greens.

Ryan Moore shot a 65 to move into second place and said conditions allowed him to go for the pin all day.

"That's what I was doing, and that really doesn't happen very much," he said.

The sun came out for the afternoon, but severe weather moved in just before 4:30 p.m. with 73 golfers still on the course. Play was officially called for the day at 6 p.m.

Colt Knost, who was celebrating his 24th birthday Friday, and 26-year-old Aaron Watkins were in the clubhouse at 8-under. They were tied with Anthony Kim, Paul Goydos, David Toms and Spencer Levin, all of whom were playing their back nine when play was halted.

Knost says he's almost fully recovered from minor injuries suffered when he was struck by a drunken driver just before the U.S. Open qualifier in Memphis.

"I could be in bed right now and not playing out here, so I feel very lucky to be playing this game for a living and that's the way I'm just going about it now," he said.

Michael Allen shot a 65, tying him with Moore, Chris Stroud and Brad Faxon for the best round of the day. Allen was one of six golfers at 7 under.

"I'd like to be 11 under like Kenny but I played quite nicely," Allen said. "Hopefully, I'll have some good things for the weekend."

The cut line was expected to be at 3 under. Faxon finished 1 under and may be heading home.

Matt Weibring finished at 2-under despite hitting the shot of the day. He put his approach on the par-4 fourth hole into the cup from 194 yards out.

Defending champion Stewart Cink was 1 over through 13 holes. Chris DiMarco (2 under), Stuart Appleby (even), and Notah Begay III (3 over) were all expected to miss the cut.

Friday's Best*

EASIEST HOLE	TOUGHEST HOLE
The par-4 15th hole was the easiest with a Friday scoring average of 3.752. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 50 PARS: 53 BOGEYS: 16 OTHERS: 2	The par-3 16th hole was the toughest with a Friday scoring average of 3.176. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 11 PARS: 82 BOGEYS: 20 OTHERS: 6

*Partial results from the suspended second round

SHOT OF THE DAY	ROUND OF THE DAY
Brian Gay chipped in for a birdie at the par-4 sixth hole at TPC River Highlands. He has 13 holes left of his second round. Watch his shot	Four players are in the clubhouse with a 65, but it was Ryan Moore's round that moved him from a tie for 17th into solo second. Check out his scorecard

INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Fred Albers offers these observations from Friday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.

Kenny Perry has his own theory on why scores were higher in the second round than in the first. Rain storms limited the amount of sunshine on Friday and he had a hard time seeing the line for putts, plus the hole locations were also difficult. Perry says several cups were cut at the back of greens, and it's difficult to control the spin of a golf ball to back hole locations on moist greens.

Ryan Moore does not wear traditional golf shoes, but then again he doesn't do many of the same things that a "traditional golfer" would. Moore has sneaker-style shoes with ridges on the bottom instead of the usual spikes. He had no problem with traction while shooting a 5-under 65 in the second round. Moore is 9 under for the championship and two off the lead.

The PGA TOUR is a family of players that rallies together in times of trouble. It's been a tragic few weeks for many players but they are being remembered at the Travelers Championship. There are pink ribbons in honor of Amy Mickelson, who is fighting breast cancer. There are green ribbons to remember Ken Green, who lost his leg in an auto accident, and there are black ribbons for Chris Smith. A car accident took the life Smith's wife last week and left his two children critically injured. What touches one on TOUR, touches all.

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-4, 296-yard 15th at TPC River Highlands
LAST YEAR: The 15th played to a stroke average of 3.663, with players recording nine eagles, 191 birdies, 204 pars, 44 bogeys and two double bogeys.
DESCRIPTION: Unless you're playing for the Travelers Championship title, or you're having the round of your life, take out the driver and have some fun. You will have few opportunities in your life to say you drove a par 4 at a TPC. In windy conditions, the pros often hit an iron off the tee, leaving a full wedge to the green. (Click here for tour)

This week at the Kodak Challenge hole

Round-by-round statistics on the par-5 15th at TPC River Highlands