American Stewart Cink, boosted by two eagles, soared into a one-shot lead at the end of second round at the Travelers Championship.

Seeking his fifth PGA Tour title, Cink shrugged off bogeys on his first two holes to fire a six-under-par 64 on an overcast day at the TPC River Highlands.

Eagles at the par-five sixth and 13th helped him post a 10-under total of 130, a stroke in front of compatriots Ken Duke (66), defending champion Hunter Mahan (63) and Lucas Glover (66).

PGA Tour rookie Brad Adamonis carded a 68 to lie a further shot back in a tie for fifth with fellow Americans Kevin Sutherland (65) and amateur Michael Thompson (67).

Cink, whose last PGA Tour victory came at the 2004 WGC-NEC Invitational, bogeyed the first and second before sinking a 30-foot birdie putt at the third.

He set up his first eagle by hitting a driver from 265 yards to 20 feet at the sixth and picked up further shots at the seventh and eighth to reach the turn in 33.

After three-putting for another bogey at the par-four 10th, he eagled the 13th by coaxing in a breaking putt from 50 feet.

Further birdies on 15 and 17 swept him to the top of the leaderboard, ahead of early pacesetter Mahan whose flawless 63 was the lowest round of the week.

"It didn't start out very promising at all with those two bogeys, those were ugly," Cink said.

"But I was able to right the ship and salvage quite a bit. I got on a pretty good roll, got very confident in the middle of the round and finished off strong, too."

Cink has come desperately close this season to ending a PGA Tour victory drought of almost four years, posting two runner-up spots and two third places in 14 starts.

"I hope it's just a matter of time, I hope it's a matter of about two days," he said with a broad smile. "But I'm patient. I've been out here for 12 years and that's one thing I've definitely learned is to be patient."

Mahan, who won last year's title in a playoff with compatriot Jay Williamson, has always liked the River Highlands course.

"I just feel comfortable here," he said after a round featuring seven birdies.

"I hit it really well today off the tee and into the green. If you put the ball in play out here, you can make a lot of birdies."

Fijian world number nine Vijay Singh followed his opening 66 with a 68 to join a group of 14 players bunched at six under.

The cut fell at three-under 137, with former major winners Bob Tway, Lee Janzen and Mark Brooks among those missing out.

Reuters / Eurosport