In brief: Tom Watson in 3-way tie for U.S. Senior Open lead through 2 rounds

Golf: Tom Watson still gets quite a thrill seeing his name atop the leaderboard.

Maybe even more at age 65.

Watson withstood the scorching heat in Sacramento, California, to shoot a 1-under 69 on Friday, finishing in a three-way tie atop the bunched leaderboard after the second round of the U.S. Senior Open.

“The illusion that I can still do it,” Watson said when asked what keeps him playing competitive golf. “I don’t have the tools in the toolbox I used to have. They’re missing. Some of the tools are missing. And so it’s getting more and more difficult for me to compete, but I still feel as if I can somehow get it done.”

Watson was joined at 5 under for the championship by Jeff Maggert and Peter Fowler. Maggert shot a 65, and Fowler a 66 in their morning rounds.

But all the attention turned to the Hall of Famer heating up in the sizzling sunshine.

Watson made four birdies and three bogeys to provide the drama at sun-drenched Del Paso Country Club, where the temperature soared above 100 degrees again. Watson is trying to become the oldest winner of the event, the oldest to win a senior major and the oldest to win on the Champions Tour.

Former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett shot 73 and is 7 strokes back of the leaders heading into the weekend.

• Bubba maintains lead: Bubba Watson shot a 3-under 67 to maintain a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut.

After opening with a 62 on Thursday, Watson had three birdies in a bogey-free morning round to enter weekend play at 11-under par. The two-time Masters champion is trying to become the first wire-to-wire winner at TPC River Highland since Peter Jacobsen in 2003.

Brian Harman birdied two of his final three holes during an afternoon round of 65 to join Brian Stuard and Carl Pettersson at 9 under.

Spokane native Alex Prugh shot 69 for a total of 141 and missed the cut by three strokes.

• Hur takes early LPGA lead: Mi Jung Hur birdied her final five holes to reach 8 under and top the leaderboard in the LPGA Tour’s rain-hampered NW Arkansas Championship.

Hur completed 14 holes before play was suspended because of darkness in Rogers, Arkansas.

Azahara Munoz birdied six of eight holes in a 6-under 65 for a share of the clubhouse lead. The Spaniard was tied with Brittany Lincicome and Anna Nordqvist at Pinnacle Country Club.

Querrey advances to Nottingham final

Tennis: Sam Querrey came from a set down to beat Alexandr Dolgopolov and reach the final of the Nottingham (England) Open, where the American will play Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.

The 12th-seeded Querrey won 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the Wimbledon warm-up tournament and is in contention to end a three-year wait for an ATP title. His last came in Los Angeles in 2012.

• Wozniacki withdraws from Eastbourne: Caroline Wozniacki retired with a back injury three games into her semifinal at the grass-court Nottingham Open in Eastborne, England, handing 18-year-old Belinda Bencic a place in the final against former Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska.

The fifth-ranked Wozniacki said she expects to be fit for Wimbledon, with her first-round match against Saisai Zheng on Tuesday.

Pagenaud takes Fontana pole

Miscellany: Simon Pagenaud will start on the pole tonight in IndyCar’s 500-mile race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

Pagenaud had a two-lap average of 218.952 mph on the 2-mile oval to earn his second career pole. He also topped qualifying in Houston in 2014.

Helio Castroneves was right behind him, giving Team Penske both spots on the front row.

Marco Andretti was third, Ed Carpenter fourth and points leader Juan Pablo Montoya gave Team Penske three of the top five spots.

• Lopez opts to become free agent: Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez has opted out of the final year of his contract and will become a free agent.

Coming off a strong season in his return from injury – 17.2 points and 7.4 rebounds – Lopez chose to bypass the $16.7 million he would have earned next season and will be able to talk to other teams on July 1.

• ICC suspends U.S.: Citing “significant concerns about the governance, finance, reputation and cricketing activities of USACA,” the International Cricket Council board has unanimously suspended the membership of the USA Cricket Association.

The United States, however, will be allowed to participate next month in World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015.

• Four Utah State football players hurt in collision with semi: Four Utah State football players and a former softball player were hurt when a tractor-trailer collided with their SUV.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that witnesses said their Chevy Tahoe was T-boned by the southbound semi.

Utah State identified the football players as Travis Seefeldt, Adewale Adeoye, Edmund Faimalo and John Taylor, and the former softball player as Sarah Vasquez.

They were hospitalized. Seefeldt and Vasquez were in critical condition. The truck driver’s condition was unknown.