CROMWELL, Conn. — The wind was low and the TPC River Highlands course was soft when the second round of the Travelers Championship began after a short weather delay on Friday morning.

The conditions were perfect for some low scores. And the pros provided them.

Scottie Scheffler’s 10-under-par 60, two shots off the tournament record, vaulted him to the top of the leaderboard.

But Viktor Hovland tied his own career-low round with a 9-under 61, positioning himself just two shots behind Scheffler’s lead. And Akshay Bhatia, a 24-year-old who was in the final group with Scheffler and Tom Kim for the final round in 2024, when Scheffler beat Kim in a playoff, also tied his career-low round at 8-under 62 to end the day four shots behind the lead.

“It was awesome stuff today,” said Hovland, who set his career low in the final round of the 2023 BMW Championship. “The greens were definitely a little bit softer, but some of the pin locations, they’re tricky. I mean, it’s tough to get close to a lot of them, and you have to kind of play a little bit passively on some of them, trying to give yourself a 20-footer instead of trying to go right at it.

“Yeah, I think, as you’re seeing, I think Scottie is taking it low today, and a lot of guys are playing well. Certainly it was more gettable today than it was even (Thursday).”

Bhatia set his low mark in the first round of the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship.

“I feel like I hit a lot of good golf shots and, yeah, putted really nice, made some long ones,” he said. “I know how this golf course can play. You got to kind of keep making birdies and try and limit mistakes, and I did a nice job of that today.”

Both will be chasing Scheffler into Saturday’s third round. Hovland sits alone at 14-under through 36 holes, while Bhatia finds himself tied with Round 1 leader Eric Cole at 12-under so far.

“Obviously he’s the best player in the world, and you know he’s not going to give anything up,” Hovland said. “But yeah, it’s just kind of excitement, to be honest, to have a chance to go up against a guy that’s playing some amazing golf, and should be a really fun weekend.”

Wyndham Clark has fans in CT

After fans were all over him during last week’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Wyndham Clark seems to have gotten a break from the crowds in Connecticut this week. The U.S. Open champion hasn’t heard many boos in Cromwell.

“They were great. They were finally rooting for me instead of against me, so we like the Connecticut fans,” Clark said after Thursday’s first round. “It was definitely a nice welcoming here and just it felt a little easier and the momentum was easier than maybe last week.”

Clark shot 6-under 64 on Friday and moved to 8-under through 36 holes, eight shots off of Scheffler’s lead. His best finish at the Travelers came in 2024, when he finished tied for ninth at 17-under-par 263.

Round 1 leader Cole still in mix after ‘messy’ back nine

Eric Cole, who led the field at 7-under 63 after the first round, made five birdies on his first 10 holes on Friday. His round got messy, but he was able to avoid giving back any strokes and now heads into the weekend without a bogey, four shots behind the lead at 12-under.

“I missed kind of a short birdie putt that I thought I made on 12, and then 13, made kind of a really messy par. Should have chipped that one closer. Then 14, misjudged the wind. 15, hit a bad shot in the water. Lucky to make par. Then the drives on 17 and 18 were pretty bad,” Cole said. “So probably a mix of, you know, maybe just being tired or something and making some tired swings. But yeah, just got to get that cleaned up for the weekend.

“I think for me it’s kind of easy to be a little bit frustrated with the way I finished, but I’ve got to just remember I played really, really solid golf the first 12 holes or whatever it was. I felt, like, in control of my game. Every little aspect felt good. Driver, irons, putting all felt really solid. So I’m just going to try and focus on that and bring that type of game and that start to tomorrow.”

Ben James stays in the mix

Milford native Ben James, a four-time First Team All-American at the University of Virginia who just recently turned pro after winning the PGA Tour University race, has stayed in the mix in his home event through 36 holes. James, playing in his third Travelers Championship on an exemption, followed a 2-under 68 on Thursday with a bogey-free 6-under 64 in Friday’s second round.

He is eight shots off of Scheffler’s lead at 8-under through 36 holes.

©2026 Hartford Courant. Visit courant.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.