Perry stays two ahead at River Highlands

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American Kenny Perry maintained his two-shot lead early in Friday`s second round of the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut despite struggling with the pace of the greens.
The PGA Tour veteran, two ahead overnight after opening with a sparkling 61, parred his last 10 holes at the TPC River Highlands to card a two-under 68.
That left Perry at 11-under 129, with compatriot Ryan Moore alone in second after a 65.
Americans Colt Knost (66) and PGA Tour rookie Aaron Watkins (67) were a further stroke back at eight under while U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover was at four under after following a first-round 65 with a 71.
Perry, who flirted with a magical 59 before equaling the course record on Thursday, failed to increase his lead despite striking the ball even better on Friday.
"I hit a lot more quality, longer irons today," the 48-year-old told reporters.
"It was fun out there. I had control of the ball and hit it nice but just couldn`t get the speed (on the greens).
"I hit 16 greens and didn`t miss a fairway but I had 32 putts. I had 25 yesterday so that`s seven strokes. I`m in good shape though and happy with the round."
FIRST BOGEY
Perry, beaten in a three-way playoff at this year`s U.S. Masters, started at the 10th hole and mixed three birdies with his first bogey of the week, at the par-four 14th, to reach the turn in two-under 33 before parring the last nine.
"I kept hitting it in there 15 feet from the hole," said Perry, who won his 13th PGA Tour title at the Phoenix Open in February. "It`s a putt you think you should make but you probably don`t make many of them.
"I just kept hitting that range all day. I had a couple of close ones and I think I made one putt over six feet today. It was just a frustrating day on the greens."
Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion, carded a 68 to lie six strokes off the pace with fellow Americans Boo Weekley (71) and Scott Verplank (68).
Spanish world number four Sergio Garcia, the highest-ranked player in the field, was among the late starters after opening with a 67.
The cut was projected to fall at three-under 137 with Britain`s Justin Rose and Swede Daniel Chopra among those in danger of making early exits.
(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles, editing by Tony Jimenez)
Original article