Watson near the lead at U.S. Senior Open

SAMMAMISH, Washington - Tom Watson remained in the hunt on Friday in the U.S. Senior Open.

The Kansas City golf legend shot a second straight round of even par 70 at Sahalee Country Club near Seattle, Washington. That put Watson in a tie for fifth. He is just three strokes off the lead, held by Bernhard Langer.

The 60-year-old Watson had multiple birdie chances after impressive approach shots to the green. But he couldn’t convert. He left several of his birdie putts short on the back nine.

Watson started out with a bogey on the first hole, but then birdied the second hole to shoot even par on the front.  He made 14 straight pars before a bogey on 17.

His tee shot imbedded in the bank near the water hazard on 17 in front of the green. Watson took a drop, but chunked his chip shot and ended up with a bogey. He came back with a birdie on the uphill par-4 18, the second-toughest hole on the course.

Langer is looking to become the first player on the Champions Tour to win consecutive majors since Tom Watson in 2003. That’s when Watson won the Senior British Open and Tradition. But Watson didn’t capture those victories in back-to-back weeks with eight time zones in between.

Only four players shot under par in the second round. First-round leader Bruce Vaughan had a disastrous second day. The resident of Hutchinson, Kansas shot a 12 over par 82 after shooting a 66 on Thursday.

Fog halted play early in the second round. The delay of 2 hours and 12 minutes pushed the afternoon tee times back. The final groups were still on the course past 8:30 p.m.

Coverage of the tournament runs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. CT on your NBC Action News station.