Watson’s 64 Puts Him Into Players Lead

The wind kicked up at the Senior Players Championship on Friday with most of the scores reflecting the harsh weather.

But the blustery conditions didn’t bother Tom Watson, who shot an eight-under-par 64, one off the course record, to take the second-round lead at the TPC of Michigan in Dearborn.

Watson missed a three-footer for birdie on No. 18 that would have tied the course record.

His 10-under 134 total in the Champions Tour major was two shots better than Andy North, who had a 69. Four others, including first-round leader Gil Morgan, were at 137.

A string of rainy days leading up to the tournament left the greens soft and the course ripe for scoring Thursday, when Morgan also missed the course record by a shot.

On Friday, the wind gusted between 20 and 35 mph for much of the day, making birdies a real feat though the greens remained relatively soft.

The scoring average went from 71.7 on Thursday to just over 74 in the second round. After 22 players posted scores in the 60s in the first round, the second round yielded only five.

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Jerry Kelly had to use a replacement putter for his final 10 holes but still shot a three-under 67 on a rainy, windy day at the Greater Milwaukee Open. That left him within a stroke of Jay Don Blake, the leader at the halfway point.

Brett Quigley (67) and Patrick Sheehan (65) also are a shot behind Blake, the first-round leader who shot a 68 in the morning to stand eight-under at 132. A rain delay of 1 hour 38 minutes softened the greens.

The rain delay proved hectic for Kelly, who grabbed his putter nine minutes before the restart and watched in shock as the head spun off.

“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I’m walking to the practice greens getting ready to practice and the next thing I know the thing is turning in my hands.”

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Beth Daniel birdied her final hole to cap a three-under 69 and take a one-shot lead over Janice Moodie after two rounds of the Canadian Women s Open at Vancouver.

“I was starting to get a little frustrated with myself because I thought I should have made more birdies,” said Daniel, who was at six-under 138. “But I think it’s that sort of golf course that you feel you should be burning it up, but nobody is.”

That was especially true Friday. When the winds picked up, the greens firmed up, and the scores went up at the 6,389-yard Point Grey Golf and Country Club. Only 18 players were under par in the second round on the tight, tree-lined layout.

Daniel, 46, has close to $7 million in career winnings, but she hasn’t won a tournament since 1995.

U.S. Open champion Hilary Lunke shot a 77 to finish nine over and miss the cut.

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Ernie Els shot a four-under 67 and extended his lead to four strokes after two rounds of the Scottish Open at Luss. Els is at 11-under 131.