Page 29 - VOS 27 JUNI 2015
P. 29
20
SPORTSSaturday 27 June 2015
Watson maintains lead after second round of Travelers
PAT EATON-ROBB The back nine was less hole and hitting his tee shot
AP Sports Writer affected by the wind
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) than the front, where a on the 13th left and into the
— Bubba Watson shot a headwind had several
3-under 67 on Friday to holes playing longer than water guarding the green.
maintain a two-stroke their yardage.
lead after the second Scott Brown had a double Others notable names
round of the Travelers bogey on his first hole and
Championship. posted a 38 on the front. who failed to make
After opening with a 62 on But after making par on
Thursday, Watson had three the 10th, he reeled off six the cut include Stewart
birdies in a bogey-free straight birdies to finish with
round to enter weekend a 67. He was 8 under, tied Cink (139), who has won
play at 11-under par. for fifth place with Jason
Watson said a gusty north Gore and Chris Stroud, who this tournament twice;
wind forced him to play is still looking for his first tour
more conservatively and win after losing here in a defending champion
perhaps think a bit more. playoff to Ken Duke in 2013.
“Some of the holes were “The back nine always Kevin Streelman; four-time
playing a little bit longer plays a bit easier here
because of the wind,” he anyway, so I knew there major champion Padraig
said. “The wind was in a were going to be some
different direction, so it just opportunities out there,” Harrington (141), 2007
made the course a little bit Brown said. “So I just kind
tougher.” of hung in there. When my winner Hunter Mahan (141)
The two-time Masters caddie said, ‘Let’s go get
champion is trying to them on the back nine,’ and Louis Oosthuizen (142).
become the first wire-to- that’s what we did.”
wire winner at TPC River Nick Watney had the Representatives from the
Highlands since Peter round of the day, shooting
Jacobsen in 2003. a bogey-free 64, with three British Open brought the
Watson won his first PGA birdies on each side of
Tour title at the 2010 event the course. Watney was Claret Jug to display at
and has finished in the at 7 under in a group that
top 20 five times in eight included New England the Travelers on Friday, as
previous starts. He tied for native Keegan Bradley.
sixth in 2008, tied for second Thirty-three players were a reminder to players that
in 2012, and finished fourth within six shots of the lead.
in 2013. Ernie Els, who shot a 66 four spots and as many as
He was delayed in talking in the opening round,
to the media Friday after bogeyed the first five holes nine in that tournament are
being pulled for a random and missed the cut after
drug test, something he shooting a 76 to finished up for grabs this week.
saw as a positive sign. 2-over after 36 holes. Els,
“I hope I passed it,” he making his first appearance The leading five players,
joked. “It’s usually when here since 2002, threw his
you’re at the top of the club into the air in frustration not already exempt, from
leaderboard they want to after bogeying the 12th
the top 20 in the FedEx Cup
will be part of the field at St.
Andrews next month.
In addition, the leading four
players who finish in the top
12 at TPC River Highlands
Bubba Watson points to the gallery that his ball is going left after also will get spots. The
his tee shot on the 13th hole during the second round of the
Travelers Championship golf tournament, Friday, June 26, 2015, Travelers is the first of three
in Cromwell, Conn.
PGA Tour events where
Associated Press
top finishers can get into
St. Andrews. There are
four spots available at The
drug test you, especially 17th after hitting his second Greenbrier Classic, and
me.” Brian Harman birdied shot over the green and
two of his final three holes missing an 8-foot par putt. one at the John Deere
during an afternoon round He then saved par on the
of 65 to join Brian Stuard 18th with a 19-foot putt. Classic.
and Carl Pettersson at “That was kind of a nice
9 under. Stuard, who momentum-keeper going “I’ve been in professional
followed an opening 64 into the weekend,” he said.
with a 67, pulled within a Pettersson, started on the golf for 18 years now and
shot of Watson after back- back nine at shot a 31 on
to-back birdies on 15 and those holes, before finishing I’ve never been to Europe,”
16. But he bogeyed the with a 66.
Gore said. “So that just
blows my mind. It blows a lot
of people’s mind. Playing
at St. Andrews would be a
lot of fun, but we’ve got a
long way to go.”q
Mayweather-Pacquiao boosts casino winnings above $1 billion
KIMBERLY PIERCEALL night, May 2, and casinos Strip mainstay that closed surge at McCarran Interna- And the Las Vegas Con-
Associated Press responded by raising lim- at the beginning of the tional Airport, which report- vention and Visitors Author-
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Huge its to accommodate big month. Lawton and other ed nearly 4 million passen- ity said 3.7 million travelers
crowds and high rollers in spenders. industry analysts noted that gers last month, the most came to town, an all-time
Las Vegas for the Floyd It was the start of a busy increases of any sort were for May since the recession. monthly record.q
Mayweather-Manny Pac- month that included the significant, since May 2014
quiao fight helped Nevada new Rock in Rio outdoor was big for casinos thanks
casinos make more than $1 music festival, the World to an anomalous surge in
billion off gamblers in May, Series of Poker and Memo- losses for gamblers playing
according to records re- rial Day weekend. Gaming baccarat.
leased Friday. board statistics show a 3.3 The fight also helped boost
It was the first time casi- percent year-over-year in- sports betting. “Other” bets
nos exceeded that total in crease for May, and Strip that include boxing but not
more than a year. casinos were up 1.4 per- football, basketball, base-
“To hit a billion, we’re pret- cent, keeping $601.2 mil- ball and horse racing, hit a
ty pleased,” said Nevada lion of what gamblers wa- record total of $81.2 million
Gaming Control Board an- gered. wagered and $8.2 million
alyst Michael Lawton. The bumps came despite won by casinos.
Slot machines and tables the loss of the Riviera Hotel The long-awaited match-
were packed on fight and Casino, a Las Vegas up also helped produce a
