CROMWELL, Conn. - Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele seemed on the verge of using Friday afternoon on the back nine at TPC River Highlands to set a up a Saturday showdown in the Travelers Championship.
And then McIlroy stumbled twice with a quadruple bogey on the 12th hole and a double bogey on the 15th, giving Schauffele the opportunity to pull away down the stretch as he shot his second straight 7-under-par 63 for a five-stroke lead heading to the weekend.
Schauffele, the 28-year-old American with five PGA Tour career wins and a gold medal from last year's Tokyo Olympics, made the turn at 31 with four birdies on the front nine, then added three more on Nos. 11, 14 and 17.
He has hit 33 of 36 greens in regulation and is the only player in the tournament without a bogey. His closest call so far was Friday at the par-3 16th, where he his tee shot found the rough behind a greenside bunker.
"It plays really interesting with the wind swirling through there," Schauffele said. "It was my least committed swing of the week, and just really happy to get up and down there and save par."
Reigning tournament champion Harris English (65) was tied for second at 9 under with Nick Hardy (64), Kevin Kisner (64), Patrick Cantlay (67) and Australia's Cam Davis (66). The eight-man logjam a stroke further back included both McIlroy and J.T. Poston as the first-round co-leaders both followed opening 62s with 70s.
English, who won on the eighth hole of a playoff last year, is playing in his third tournament since returning in May from Valentine's Day surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip. After missing the cut at the Memorial Tournament, he made it at the U.S. Open last weekend but wound up sharing 61st place after back-to-back top-four finishes the past two years.
"I feel like back home I can go hit a bunch of balls on the range, but up and down these hills and being on your feet for five or six hours is the toughest part," English said. "It's getting better and better, and I feel like the more I play competitive rounds out here, it's just going to get stronger."
He was joined by fellow Baylor School graduates Keith Mitchell and Luke List, who each shot a 68, in making the cut - Mitchell was tied for 20th at 6 under, with List two strokes further back and tied for 33rd - but former Red Raiders standout Stephan Jaeger (72) missed the 2-under line by a stroke.
Schauffele played one group ahead of McIlroy, who was still leading by a stroke at 13 under before getting into trouble on the par-4 12th. The four-time major champion from Northern Ireland left the hole trailing by three, then found more trouble on the par-4 15th.
He gained a stroke back on 16 but had to settle for par - for the hole and the round - when his birdie putt lipped out on 18.
"I should be closer to the lead," he said. "Feel like I let a lot of guys into the golf tournament because of it."
McIlroy and Schauffele both emphasized there is plenty of golf left to be played on a course where there are birdies to be had, but only one of them is working from the high ground.
"I put myself in a great position in this tournament," McIlroy said, "and then just three bad swings have sort of cost me six shots."
The last player to make a quadruple bogey and go on to win a PGA Tour event was Adam Scott at the 2016 Honda Classic. He put two shots in the water on the par-3 15th hole in the third round on his way to a 66 and closed with a 70 for a one-shot victory.
Ryder Cup redux
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Padraig Harrington and Steve Stricker are going at it again on a big stage, and they will have even more say over the outcome at the U.S. Senior Open.
The two Ryder Cup captains from Whistling Straits last September will be in the final group going into the weekend at Saucon Valley after Ireland's Harrington birdied three of his last six holes for a 6-under 65 to take a one-shot lead.
Stricker, whose U.S. team of stars throttled Europe in the Ryder Cup, did some nifty work of his own to overcome a sloppy start. He birdied his last three holes for a 69 and was alone in second at 5 under, with fellow American Rob Labritz (69) one shot back.
Even as sunshine replaced rain, only 12 players remained under par. Reigning tournament champion Jim Furyk stumbled to a 76 and made the cut on the number, but 64-year-old German great Bernhard Langer missed it by two, the first time in 65 senior majors he has failed to reach the weekend.
Chun's lead now six
BETHESDA, Md. - In Gee Chun shot a 3-under 69 to increase her lead to six strokes halfway through the Women's PGA Championship.
Chun led by five after the first round, equaling the biggest 18-hole advantage in the history of women's major championships. The Congressional Country Club course was a bit more forgiving in the second round - Thursday's wet conditions gave way to a clear, warm Friday - and she began with three birdies in the first five holes before bogeys on Nos. 7 and 8 kept her from pulling away even more.
The 27-year-old from South Korea is seeking her fourth LPGA Tour victory and third major title after winning the 2015 U.S. Women's Open and the 2016 Evian Championship.
Lydia Ko (67) and Jennifer Kupcho (68) were second at 5 under. Kupcho won the first major of the season, the ANA Inspiration, in early April and won a playoff Sunday in Michigan for her second LPGA Tour title.
Euro tour responds
MUNICH - The DP World Tour has banned golfers who competed in the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series from three upcoming tournaments and fined them $123,000 each.
The European-based circuit announced Friday that any players who took part in the inaugural LIV event near London earlier this month would be suspended from the Scottish Open, Barbasol Championship and Barracuda Championship. All three of those events are co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour, which previously suspended players who competed in the LIV event.
There could be "further sanctions" if the players continue to compete in LIV without authorization, the DP World Tour said. The next LIV event is June 30-July 2 in Portland, Oregon.
"Many members I have spoken to in recent weeks expressed the viewpoint that those who have chosen this route have not only disrespected them and our Tour, but also the meritocratic ecosystem of professional golf that has been the bedrock of our game for the past half a century and which will also be the foundation upon which we build the next 50 years," Keith Pelley, chief executive of the DP World Tour, said in a release.
"Their actions are not fair to the majority of our membership and undermine the Tour, which is why we are taking the action we have announced today."