David Toms shot a five-under-par 65 on Friday to move into a tie for the second-round lead at a blustery and rainy Travelers Championship.
Toms, who has had five top-10 finishes this year, shares the lead at eight under with journeyman Jay Williamson, who fired a 66 for the second day in a row while playing in just his second US tour event of the year.
Toms, who started on the back nine, went to nine under after an eagle on the par-four second hole, pitching in his approach from 84 yards. But after a 21-minute rain delay, he bogeyed the seventh hole to fall back into the tie.
He said he failed to adjust to the slower greens after the rain.
"I missed puts at six, seven, eight and nine and they were all on the low side, not quite hard enough," he said.
Williamson closed his round by making birdie on the 17th and the 18th holes while playing into a 40kph wind.
"Obviously I drove it well," Williamson said. "I mean, you cannot play a day like today out of the rough."
Rain delayed play briefly for the second straight day.
Williamson, ranked seventh on the US developmental tour order of merit, would earn a full exemption on the regular US tour with a win here. At 40, he said he constantly thinks about whether playing the game is still worthwhile.
"I've learned that there is one place to play golf for a living, and that is on this tour," he said. "I'd much rather go to Flint [the next tour stop] than Peek n' Peak [the next developmental event]."
Playing Hartford on a sponsor's exemption, Williamson missed the cut in his other tour appearance this year at the Honda Classic in March.
First-round leader Hunter Mahan followed up his 62, with a one-over 71, dropping to seven under.
Mahan lost the lead on the seventh hole, a 443-yarder straight into the teeth of the wind. His drive landed in a fairway bunker on the right and his approach dropped about 40 yards short of the green.
Mahan's chip went by the hole about nine feet and he missed the comeback for par, which dropped him to seven under for the tournament.
"It's a bit gusty out there," he said. "It makes going after pins tougher, hard to get your distance better and just control is tough."
Olin Browne, the 1998 champion here, finished at three under for the day and is two strokes off the lead. Browne, who also started on the back nine, bogeyed his first two holes on the day, but eagled his next two -- his first two eagles of the year.
Former US Open champ Corey Pavin also shot a 66, despite three-putting the 18th, to move into contention at four-under par. Pavin, who has played in this tournament 14 other times, said the veterans such as he and Browne definitely have an advantage in knowing how to play the course on a windy day.
"I think you have to be patient, and I think patience comes with old people like us," he said.
The course wasn't as kind to Masters champ Zach Johnson, who shot a 74 and will miss the cut. Vijay Singh shot a 71, and is one under for the tournament. That puts him in a tie for 34th place.
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