Marathoner Tom King went bogey-free for the second straight day to take the lead at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut.
Playing his eighth straight tournament, the South Korean built on his opening round of 62 with a five-under 65 to take a two-shot lead in the clubhouse over Collin Morikawa and Akshay Bhatia, who were both at 13-under.
“I think this time has made me sharper and more prepared, and I think it’s time to show myself,” King said at TPC River Highlands.
Seamus Power had a tougher day in the office today, shooting a three-under 70 to finish ten shots behind King.
King, who tied for second place behind Brian Harman last year, already qualified for the Open.
But Tom McKibbin of Hollywood is still chasing a spot at Royal Troon Golf Club and after finishing tied for 31st (three under) with a one-under 70, he still has a lot of work to do to earn one of the two spots in this week’s KLM Open.
He is behind Finland's Mikko Korhonen (The above image is from Getty Images), who shot a 3-under 68 at the Amsterdam International to finish one stroke ahead of American Sean Crocker, who was at 10-under.
Meanwhile, Gary Hurley had a triple bogey on the 17th (8) and a bogey on the final hole (73) to fall four shots short of par.
Sarah Schmelzer shot a 5-under 67 to move into the clubhouse two shots ahead of Japan’s Hinako Shibuno (70), overnight leader Lexi Thompson (72) and South Korea’s Kim Young Ko (68), who was at 6 under, at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Sahalee, Washington.
Padraig Harrington birdied two of his final three holes for a four-under 68 at the PGA Tour Champions and finished four shots behind Stephen Ames at the New York Dick Open.
Seeking his third victory of the tournament, he made seven birdies while Darren Clarke shot 73 in a warm-up for next week's U.S. Senior Open.
Meanwhile, Gary Murphy shot the day’s joint-best score of 4-under 68 to advance into the final of the IFX Irish Legends at the Cape, four strokes behind leader Paul Lawrie.
Lowry shot 70 to move two shots ahead of Swede Patrick Sjoland and three ahead of Greg Irvine at seven under, with Murphy tied for fourth with Simon Khan and Peter Baker.
It was also a productive day for Dermot McElroy in the Blot Open on the Brittany Challenge Tour, as he shot an eagle and eight birdies for a 7-under 63 to tie for 26th place with Ruaidhri McGee, who shot a 3-under 70.
They remain 10 shots behind leader Bjorn Akesson of Sweden, while Ronan Mullarney and Alex Maguire are one shot back after shooting 66 and 69, respectively.
In the Amateur Championship, England's Dominic Clemons will face Denmark's Jacob Skov Olesen in the 36-hole final in Ballyliffin today (8:31am).
