The Travelers Championship

Strange as it may sound, the first-round leader at the Travelers is out at the halfway point.

Jim Renner, who shot a 7-under 63 in the first round, is out after a 74 in round two. He still was 3-under par after two rounds but that wasn’t good enough to play on.

The last man to miss the cut on Tour after at least sharing the first round lead was Ben Martin earlier this season at the Northern Trust Open. He was part of a nine-way tie for the lead after an opening 67 but followed that with an 80.

The last outright leader on Tour to miss the cut is believed to be Rod Pampling. Pampling led the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie after one round with a 71 but followed that with an 86.

The tee times for Saturday’s third round, in case you need them, are up.

We’re officially halfway through the Travelers Championship, even though it’s nearly Saturday afternoon.

The second round concluded this morning at about 11:15 a.m., at which point the cut was made. The cut _ a remarkably low 4-under _ eliminated the likes of Geoff Ogilvy (-3 137), Jim Furyk (137), first-round leader Jim Renner (137), as well as former champions Woody Austin (139), Kenny Perry (141) and Brad Faxon (145).

The third round will get underway in just a few minutes (11:45 a.m.) off both tees and in threesomes.

Amateur Patrick Cantlay (13-under) remains one shot ahead of Johnson Wagner, with the dangerous Nick Watney three back at 10-under.

Amateur Patrick Cantlay hits his second shot on the 15th hole of his second round of the rain delayed Travelers Championship golf tournament in Cromwell on Friday. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

Amatuer Patrick Cantlay’s four-shot overnight lead is down to one as the second round of the Travelers Championship winds up Saturday morning.

Johnson Wagner shot a 63 in Round 2 and is at 12-under overall, one back of the 19-year-old from Long Beach, Calif.

The second round should wrap up in the next hour, after which the cut will be made and the third round will start almost immediately after.

Because of the remarkably low scores, first-round leader Jim Renner is in danger of missing the cut. After a 63, he shot a 74 in the second round and is “only” 3-under par. The cut could be made an amazingly low 4-under.

In case you didn’t know, Cantlay has some ties to Connecticut _ sort of. He went to the same high school (Servite High in Anaheim, Calif.) as UConn football players D.J. Shoemate and Johnny McEntee.

Cantlay says he knows both but isn’t exactly good friends with either. Cantlay’s caddy Chris Roth, however, is one of McEntee’s best friends and is rooting hard for him to be the Huskies’ starting quarterback in the upcoming season.

Patrick Cantlay has done things over the past week that many people would pay to do. Today, he did things that earn most people huge paychecks.

He won’t get paid, but man, what a day.

Cantlay, the amateur who just finished his freshman season at UCLA, tore apart TPC at River Highlands, setting the course record with a 10-under-par 60 in his second round of the day. Just 19 years old, he leads the tournament by four strokes.

Cantlay was the NCAA’s player of the year, and he earned his way into last week’s U.S. Open, where he tied for 21st as the low amateur. He got a sponsor’s exemption into this tournament. After a 67 this morning — forced to play 36 holes today because of yesterday’s rain — he rolled through the second round, taking the lead with an eagle on the 13th hole.

Four players had shot 61 at TPC River Highlands, most recently Brad Faxon in the final round of his 2005 tournament victory. Cantlay’s 60 ties the tournament record, which Tommy Bolt set in 1954 at Wethersfield Country Club.

A wild moment about a half-hour before Cantlay finished: The PGA Tour’s leaderboard suddenly showed Michael Thompson at 11-under, tied with Cantlay at the time. Somehow, the computer gave Thompson credit for a hole-in-one on the par-4, 443-yard seventh hole. That was promptly corrected. Coincidentally, Thompson was the last amateur to make the cut in this tournament, in 2008. Cantlay is now the fourth since 1979 to make it.

UCLA rising sophomore Patrick Cantlay has a share of the lead as he makes the turn in the second round of the Travelers Championship. Five birdies on the front nine, including one at No. 9, has the amateur at 8-under for the tournament (that is, today’s first 27 for him), tied with Vaughn Taylor.

Here’s the story I did on Cantlay earlier this week. Funny: He said he was tired, even yawning as he sat down for his press conference. Today, after he signed for his 67, he was about to go on TV… and he yawned again. Nothing fazing this kid.

The top of the leaderboard remains packed. A birdie here or a bogey there could make a world of difference for anybody.

Jim Renner of Plainville, Mass., a “veteran” of but one PGA Tour event before this year, is in at 7-under-par 63 to take the official first-round lead. He started on the back nine, put up a 6-under 29 back there, and then finished up with a birdie on No. 9 to get to 7.

The second round was already under way behind him. Webb Simpson and Vaughn Taylor are at 6-under through five holes and through four holes. Ryan Moore and Andres Romero finished up their 64s this morning and won’t be out again until the afternoon.

Edit: These are even dicier to use than usual, but for posterity: The 77 golfers (not counting the one withdrawal) who had yesterday’s morning tee times averaged 69.31 strokes. The 77 who had afternoon tee times, which turned into morning tee times today, averaged 68.57.

J.J. Henry is in the clubhouse after one round at 2-under-par.

He got there by roller coaster.

He began on the back nine with two bogeys. He birdied 12, bogeyed 13, then made three out of four birdies (the first par was 16, his seventh hole). He made par nine times in a row before finishing up with a birdie on 9.

At this instant, 2-under is a tie for 47th. Henry is scheduled to get back on the course at 1:05 p.m.