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(Reuters) - Bubba Watson wasted little time putting his disappointing U.S. Open behind him with a brilliant start to the Travelers Championship on Thursday that gave him a two-shot lead after the first round.
The two-times Masters champion, who missed the cut last week at Chambers Bay by two strokes, made nine birdies and one bogey at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, en route to an eight-under-par 62.
That gave Watson, at number five the highest-ranked player in the field, a two-stroke cushion over a group of five players that included 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley and South Korean Noh Seung-yul.