Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre weathered the elements to stay in contention with leader Tom Kim in the Travelers Championship.
Kim, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Friday, built on a first-round 62 with a five-under-par 65 to finish 13-under through two rounds.
He was faultless with five birdies in the round and was pleased that the work he has been putting in was beginning to pay off.
“I’m playing really well and I know kind of what I’m doing on the golf course, so just really executing my game plan, that’s just kind of how I’m doing it, and the score is the score,” Kim said.
Shane Lowry had six birdies on day two
Lowry had six birdies and an eagle and narrowly missed a birdie on the 18th, finishing four back from Kim.
His approach on the par-five 13th saw him roll in a long birdie putting him eight-under for the day but the Irishman ended up settling for three pars as the horn sounded to stop play.
Robert MacIntyre remains in contention
MacIntyre, who won the RBC Canadian Open earlier this month, had four birdies on each nine including the last two holes, to finish five back.
Kim leads a swathe of Americans with fellow birthday boy Scottie Scheffler leading the charge after a frustrating outing at the US Open.
Scottie Scheffler acknowledges the crowd
Scheffler, who sits alongside compatriots Collin Morikawa and Akshay Bhatia, had to wait out the completion of his round thanks to a three-hour thunderstorm, with lightning in the area.
“I found a little stuff in my swing and feel like I’m seeing the breaks a lot better on these greens. Definitely feeling some good momentum from the last two days, Scheffler said.
Akshay Bhatia watches his tee shot on the fourth hole
Bhatia is just five months younger than Kim, and is also in contention, having won the Valero Texas Open in April. He was briefly 12-under for the tournament, before a closing bogey.
“I’m playing great,” Bhatia said.
“I feel like I’ve been working really hard on my technique especially this week, and I feel like my coach and I have found a feel that works, so we’re just kind of trying to build on that and focus on that as much as I can.”
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