Round 2: Travelers Championship (PGATOUR.com)

June 26, 2009

EARLY CUT LINE UPDATE (2:30 p.m.)—As Bob Stevens noted during LIVE@, the course is playing almost a stroke tougher today, but the cut line is still sitting at 3 under.

PGATOUR.COM Instant Access ChampionshipTravelers PGATOUR.COM's The Live Report has all the news and notes from the Travelers Championship, and we'll be providing updates from TPC River Highlands all day long for each round, so check back often. (All timestamps are Eastern Time.) PGA TOUR Shot Tracker | Live Scoring | PGA TOUR Network | Facebook | Twitter | FanZone

Some notables currently fighting to make the cut: Justin Rose (2 under), Stuart Appleby (even), Stewart Cink (even).

ROOKIE IN THE MIX (2:11 p.m.)—There's a hundred dreamers every December at q-school, but Aaron Watkins is one of the lucky ones to make it through and earn the shot to play in the big leagues on the PGA TOUR.

Watkins has only been able to get into 11 events this year, but he's used the time to show he can play against the best in the world. He tied for seventh in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans after contending all week, and he's only three shots back of leader Kenny Perry after a 65-67 start in Hartford.

Watkins is a little guy—only 5-foot-8—but he's a good mid-iron player and deadly with a wedge. He's been comfortable all week in his first start at TPC River Highlands. He had a couple of bad holes on the back nine Friday when he bogeyed Nos. 13 and 14.

"I still hit two bad shots and laid two bogeys and I don't need to do that tomorrow," Watkins said.

Watkins said the experience from New Orleans will help.

"I was really nervous Saturday and Sunday, but I think going into this Saturday and Sunday being through that is going to help me a little bit," he said.

FORGET WHAT WE SAID ABOUT THE RAIN (1:55 p.m.)—The sun has peeked out from behind the clouds during our LIVE@ coverage. Our cameras showed J.J. Henry bomb a driver over the green at the par-4 15th, where the pin is located on the back right today.

PUTTING HOLDING PERRY BACK (1:50 p.m.)—Kenny Perry hit the ball perfectly all day Friday—he hit 16 greens and didn't miss a single fairway—and yet, he shot 68, seven shots worse than Thursday.

The answer? Putting. Perry used 32 putts in the second round—exactly seven more than Thursday.

"I'm used to it. I don't normally putt well anyway," Perry said. "It was just like I didn't have any touch. What I felt was the right speed was always short, and then when I tried to hit it, I couldn't stroke it.

"I was hitting the putt, then I was blowing it right to the break. So I definitely didn't have much feel out there today."

Putt for dough (is right)Improved putting has defined Kenny Perry's resurgence on the PGA TOUR: Year Putts per Round/Rank Putts per GIR/Rank 2009 29.24/114th 1.774/78th 2008 29.25/85th 1.778/63rd 2007 29.53/132nd 1.806/153rd 2006 30.19/196th 1.813/177th

MAYBE HE WASN'T KIDDING (1:27 p.m.)—Michael Allen, 50, won the Senior PGA Championship last month at Canterbury Golf Club for his first win on the Champions Tour.

Did he stay out on the over-50 circuit? No. He has unfinished business on the PGA TOUR, namely, scoring the PGA TOUR win that has eluded him.

He was painfully close a couple of times in recent years. He tied for third in the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in 2008 after shooting a disappointing 70 on the final day. He was solo second at the 2007 Turning Stone Resort Championship.

Allen joked that he wanted to become the first player in history to win on the Champions Tour before winning on the PGA TOUR, and he's got a shot this week at TPC River Highlands. Allen matched Ryan Moore for the lowest round of the morning wave with a 65, and he didn't make a single bogey. He heads into the weekend at 7 under total.

At 50 years, four months and 27 days, Allen could become one of the oldest winners ever on TOUR:

Oldest winners in PGA TOUR history Player Age Tournament won Sam Snead 52 years, 10 months 1965 Greater Greensboro Open Art Wall 51 years, 7 months 1975 Greater Milwaukee Open Jim Barnes 51 years, 3 months 1937 Long Island Open John Barnum 51 years, one month 1962 Cajun Classic Fred Funk 50 years, eight months 2007 Mayakoba Classic Ray Floyd 49 years, 6 months 1992 Doral-Ryder Open Peter Jacobsen 49 years, 4 months 2003 Greater Hartford Open

RYAN MOORE INTERVIEW (1:10 p.m.)—Ryan Moore is in with a 65, his lowest round of the year, to move into second behind Kenny Perry.

Moore played well last week at the U.S. Open, quietly finishing in a tie for 10th. He's anxious to get back on track after a nagging hand injury prevented him from playing his best.

"I had surgery on my [left] hand three years ago," Moore said. "I just kind of wasn't using it the same way, and that was kind of what hit me recently was just to start using my left hand a little bit more the way I used to."

"I'm a very left-side dominant golfer and having hurt my left hand, it just kind of made things really difficult. Essentially, it's just been a power struggle in my golf swing between my right and left side and they haven't really been working well together, and I've just simply started making them work together again."

Here is a look at Moore's scorecard:

AND I WONDER, STILL I WONDER .. WHO'LL STOP THE RAIN (12:57 p.m.)—If you live in the Northeast, this has probably been the rainiest June you can remember, and it's about to get worse.

Rain has been falling since 11:30 a.m., and thunderstorms are predicted for this afternoon. Currently, the rain hasn't prevented the field from coming in.

During our LIVE@ coverage on the 17th hole, the rain started really coming down hard at 1 p.m. ET.

"Biggest downpour of the day," noted LIVE@ analyst Craig Perks.

PERRY IN THE CLUBHOUSE (12:48 p.m.)—It was a strange second round for Kenny Perry, who hung onto the lead through the morning wave despite playing his final 10 holes without a birdie.

Perry was two under on the day as he teed off on the par-4 18th—his ninth hole of the day—and he stayed at two under the rest of the way. Perry finished with 10 pars in a row.

Here is a look at Perry's scorecard:

HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR TWITTER FEED (12:34 p.m.)—Our Brian Wacker is following Lucas Glover, Vijay Singh and Chad Campbell in the morning wave on Friday. Here is some tidbits from his Twittering on Friday:

"Just ran into Vijay Singh's new trainer, Gabe Lopez, who Vijay hired on March 1. Lots of flexibility stuff with Vijay."

"Lopez used to train former Mr. Olympia Dexter Jackson and Lopez himself is a short fire hydrant of a guy who's as fit as could be."

"Rain has now stopped…cursed myself by running back to get rain gear. Congrats for Lucas Glover haven't stopped though. And they love him."

"Lengthy birdie putt fell for Mr. U.S. Open at No. 4…and raindrops have too. Heavy stuff won't for a bit. Vijay just gave a kid a ball."

To follow the day's play with our Twitter feed, .

IN THE BAG: HUNTER MAHAN (12:17 p.m.)—PGA TOUR regulars sometimes carry some surprisingly old equipment. Take 2007 Travelers Championship winner Hunter Mahan.

Mahan is 27 years old, but he carries a Ping lob wedge that isn't much younger than him. Like a lot of pros, he's keep the same 3-wood in his bag for years.

"I am not one to switch clubs, so when I find something, I like to keep it around," Mahan said.

To see what all Mahan carries in his bag, .

MEET KYLE STANLEY (11:55 p.m.)—Between Lucas Glover's victory in the U.S. Open last week to Charles Warren's 63 in the opening round of the Travelers Championship, we figured we couldn't bring you any more Clemson University news.

We were wrong.

Kyle Stanley announced this week that he was leaving Clemson after his junior season to turn pro at the Travelers Championship. Like Glover and Warren before him, he enjoyed tremendous success on the Clemson Tigers golf team, placing second in the NCAA Individual Championship.

Glover, Warren and Stanley are part of a large group of PGA TOUR players who receive instruction, mental and fitness help from the expansive facility at Sea Island Golf Resort.

Stanley leaves Clemson after his junior year as a three-time NCAA All American and the only player to win both the ACC Freshman of the Year Award and the ACC Player of the Year Award in the same year. He made the cut at the U.S. Open last week, earning an exemption to second stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament.

If he keeps playing well, Stanley has an outside chance of avoiding q-school altogether. He looks like he's going to make the cut again this week after opening with a solid 66 on Thursday and is one under after nine holes on Friday morning.

In addition to the Travelers Championship, Stanley is already in the field for the John Deere Classic, U.S. Bank Championship and Wyndham Championship.

To follow the remainder of Stanley's round with Shot Tracker, .

WIRE-TO-WIRE WINNERS (11:27 a.m.)—Round 1 leader Kenny Perry has a shot at becoming the 11th player to win wire-to-wire in Hartford. The last player to do it was Peter Jacobsen, who shocked the golf community in 2003 by shooting 63-67-69-67 to win by two shots.

Jacobsen, who was 49 at the time, had not won on TOUR in eight years, but he made it look easy. Jacobsen also easily holds the record for most years between Hartford victories (1984, 2003).

Wire-to-wire winners at the Travelers Championship Year Player Score 1955 Sam Snead 269 1956 Arnold Palmer 274 1958 Jackie Burke Jr. 268 1959 Gene Littler 272 1966 Art Wall 266 1970 Bob Murphy 267 1974 Dave Stockton 268 1976 Rik Massingale 266 *1982 Tim Norris 259 2003 Peter Jacobsen 266 *Tournament record

MOORE/MAHAN (11:10 a.m.)—We keep waiting for Ryan Moore to break out with a victory on the PGA TOUR, and we might only have to wait a couple of more days.

Moore is already four under on his round today after shooting a 66 on Thursday. This tournament has been kind to first-time winners—J.J. Henry (2006) and Hunter Mahan (2007) made this event their first victory on TOUR.

It's easy to draw parallels between Moore and Mahan. Both players were amateur prodigies—Mahan was runner-up at the U.S. Amateur in 2002, and Moore won it the U.S. Amateur in 2004.

Moore has been close in his three full seasons on TOUR. He had to watch Adam Scott drain a 50-foot putt to win the HP Byron Nelson Championship in a playoff in 2008, and he finished second at the Memorial in 2007.

Here is a list of players who have become first-time winners on the PGA TOUR in 2009:

First-time winners on the PGA TOUR in 2009 Player Tournament Pat Perez The 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer Y.E. Yang The Honda Classic Paul Casey Shell Houston Open

A FRIENDLY REMINDER ABOUT LIVE@ (11 a.m.)—We're in the fourth installment of our 2009 live coverage, and this week, we're streaming live from the 15th and 17th holes at TPC River Highlands. The 15th hole is especially intriguing to watch—players repeatedly tried to hit the green with their tee shots on the 296-yard par 4.

During our LIVE@ coverage, Charles Warren's ball rolled right over the cup, and he two-putted for an easy birdie. ( to view the best shots from Round 1).

You can always bookmark to see the schedule for our live coverage. In addition, our Brian Wacker is Twittering 36 holes a day all week at the Travelers Championship, You can read his Tweets by .

PERRY ALREADY ON HIS BACK NINE (10:45 a.m.)—Overnight leader Kenny Perry teed off at 7:42 a.m. with a two-shot lead, and he's tacked on three more birdies to extend his lead to four shots.

To follow the remainder of Perry's round with Shot Tracker, .

GLOVER GOT A SURPRISE IN PRO-AM (10:30 a.m.)—Lucas Glover may have won the U.S. Open on Monday, but he's still one of the guys. Just ask Johnson Wagner, who delivered a "gift" to the newly crowned major champion just before Glover teed off at the Travelers Championship pro-am.

As Glover prepared to tee off, Wagner snuck behind him and placed a pie full of shaving cream directly in Glover's face as fans took pictures. Glover hit his tee shot—with his face still covered in shaving cream—to the howls of the gallery.

Glover, by the way, continues to play well at TPC River Highlands. He's just outside the top 10 at 5 under for the tournament and even through his first seven holes of the second round.—Helen Ross

The Hartford Courant had video of the event. Click here to watch it.

SMITH, GREEN FAMILY TRAGEDIES HITS PLAYERS HARD (10:25 a.m.) — Chris Smith played in eight events at TPC River Highlands, and his peers on the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour are honoring the memory of his family this week.

Chris Smith's wife, Beth Smith, was killed in a car accident on June 21, near Angola, Ind. His daughter Abigail, 16, and son Cameron, 12, were critically injured and are currently hospitalized in Fort Wayne, Ind.

On the Nationwide Tour this week, players and caddies at the Nationwide Tour Players Cup in West Virginia are wearing black ribbons.

Smith has made eight Nationwide Tour starts and three PGA TOUR starts in 2009.

On the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour this week, players are wearing green ribbons in support of Ken Green, who was seriously injured in an RV accident on June 15 that killed his brother Bill, 56, and longtime girlfriend Jeanne Hodgin, 52.

Ken's injuries forced the amputation of his lower left leg on June 15. He is scheduled to be released from a Mississippi hospital on Thursday, June 24. He faces outpatient procedures for a sub orbital fracture near his left eye. His goal is to return to playing golf and competing on the Champions Tour.

"You know, these are tragedies," Paul Goydos said on Thursday. "It's been a rough year in a sense on the PGA TOUR."

"As players, we'll do what we can to help them out," said 2007 Travelers Championship winner Hunter Mahan. "We're obviously here for them and here for everybody. But it's a tough situation to go through three kind of tragedies like that. It's just very tough."

Watch:

Groups We're Watching Tee time Players 7:42 a.m. ET No. 10 Kenny Perry, D.J. Trahan, Aaron BaddeleyFirst-round leader Kenny Perry will try to follow up Thursday's 61 with another low round. 1:03 p.m. ET No. 10 Hunter Mahan, Paul Goydos, David TomsGoydos sits at 7 under after one round, while Toms is two strokes back at 5 under. 1:34 p.m. ET No. 10 Lucas Glover, Vijay Singh, Chad CampbellGlover followed up that U.S. Open win with a 65. Singh also fared well on Thursday with a 4-under 66. Live Essentials Follow every shot with our newest application The only place on the Internet for real-time live scoring Listen to expert commentary on the PGA TOUR Network News, notes, stats and analysis during each round