Tom Kim remains leader in the clubhouse after a three-hour delay in the second round of the Travelers Championship

CROMWELL – Scottie Scheffler had just made three birdies in a row when the horn sounded at TPC River Highlands, signaling a suspension of the second round of the Travelers Championship due to nearby lightning strikes. Shane Lowry just made an eagle on hole 13 to improve to 8 under par for the day, and Justin Thomas, the other half of his duo, did the same to bring his round to 7 under par.

All three heated up the back nine and were battling for the top spots on the leaderboard when play was suspended at 4:11 p.m. Seven groups of 14 players each were still finishing their rounds.

The round resumed at 19:25, more than three hours later.

At the top of the leaderboard, where Tom Kim stayed put after his 8-under 62 in Thursday’s first round, three new players were in the top five. Lowry and Thomas, both at 9 under par for the tournament with four holes to go, were just one stroke behind Scheffler, who was in fourth place at 10 under par with two holes to go.

To avoid the forecast thunderstorm, tee times were moved up an hour on Friday and much of the day’s round was played in sweltering heat. The heat peaked at 34 degrees around 1pm, just as the last groups reached the first tee. About two hours later, light rain began to fall and by 4pm, thunder was heard.

Rain could continue into Saturday. Temperatures are expected to reach 32 degrees, with the possibility of thunderstorms in the early afternoon. Sunday will be cloudy and temperatures are expected to reach 32 degrees, with the possibility of rain continuing throughout the day.

Kim, who was born on his 22nd birthday – the same date as Scheffler – battled through the conditions and made birdies on five of his first six holes to extend his lead to 13 under par, where he stayed after shooting par on the remaining holes.

Kim and Scheffler each hit all but one fairway and all but one green within the required number of strokes on Friday.

“I’ve been playing really, really solid,” said Kim, who is playing in his eighth PGA event in as many weeks, “so swing-wise, just physically, it could start to go pretty quickly. (I’m) just trying to be in top shape and do the right things to keep the momentum going.”

After play resumed and the large crowds had left, Scheffler made a par on hole 17 and a birdie on hole 18 to move to 11 under par and into a three-way tie for second place.

“After the delay, I came out and hit some really nice shots. It was nice to get a birdie on 18 at the end. Before that, I thought I had played some solid golf and done some good things, so overall, I think it was a pretty solid day,” Scheffler said after spending the delay in the clubhouse with his wife and young son. “You always don’t give up hope, just with the amount of daylight we had and there weren’t many groups left on the course, but the course got a lot of rain, so we were lucky to get back out there.”

Neither Lowry nor Thomas could regain their momentum. They played the remaining four holes with par and finished the match at 9 under par (131).

Collin Morikawa, who finished second at 11 under par and 129, equaled his personal nine-hole record by shooting 6 under par and 29 over the front nine. He birdied the back nine to move within two strokes of Kim’s lead. Akshay Bhatia, who was two strokes off the lead at the start of the day, moved within a single stroke of the lead on the 17th hole, but made bogey on the 18th to tie at 11 under par.

“I hit a lot of good shots. I hit highs and lows when I needed to, except on 18, but other than that I played well. The wind was supposed to be from the south and it was northeast for most of the day, so it was quite interesting how that came about,” Bhatia said.

Xander Schauffele improved to 10 under par after shooting 65 in each of the first two rounds. Sungjae Im is tied with Lowry and Thomas in sixth place at 9 under par. Behind him are three players (Tony Finau, Robert MacIntyre and Tom Hoge) at 8 under par, and three more at 7 under par.

MacIntyre and Lowry – whose round ends on Friday evening – left the course with the best score of the second round (8 under par 62).

The atmosphere on Friday at TPC River Highlands produced the lowest scoring average (67.96) for a second round in tournament history, surpassing the previous low of 68.176 set in 2011.