CROMWELL, Conn. — Bubba Watson made himself right at home in the Travelers Championship – again.

Watson shot an 8-under 62 on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead in the event he won in 2010 for his first PGA Tour title. He has finished in the top 20 five times in eight previous starts at TPC River Highlands.

It was the two-time Masters champion’s lowest round in the event.

“It’s special,” Watson said about the tournament. “It was my first win and it’s the same time that I announced to the world that my dad was passing with cancer. So special in different ways.”

New England native Keegan Bradley was tied for second with Jason Gore, Seung-Yul Noh, Brian Stuard and Harris English, who shot a 30 on the back nine. Eight players shot 65 and 12 more opened at 66. Ninety-three players were under par in the first round.

“Coming off a U.S. Open, this golf course seems like it’s gettable and we all feel that way,” Watson said. “So the guys that played in the U.S. Open maybe feel better about their game when they get here.”

Watson, playing late in the day, had four birdies on his final five holes. He just missed an eagle on the par-4 18th hole, hitting a 139-yard second shot that bounced into the flagstick and rolled four inches past the cup.

His only glitch during that stretch was a bogey on the par-3 16th, where he overshot the green, and chipped his second shot past the hole.

CHAMPIONS: Tom Watson took advantage of cooler morning conditions to shoot a 4-under 66, grabbing a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the U.S. Senior Open at Sacramento, Calfornia.

With the temperature soaring over 100 degrees in the afternoon, Watson worked through Del Paso Country Club before the scorching heat intensified. The eight-time major champion overcame a double bogey early in his round and had four birdies in a six-hole stretch after the turn.

Michael Allen, Lee Janzen, Jeff Hart, Jim Carter, P.H. Horgan and Woody Austin shot 67s.

Defending champion Colin Montgomerie and Champions Tour stalwart Bernhard Langer, who have won six of the last seven senior majors, teed off in the afternoon heat. Montgomerie shot 68 and Langer 71.

EUROPEAN: Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain overcame two bogeys to shoot a 7-under 65 for a three-way share of the lead in the opening round of the BMW International Open at Munich.

Cabrera-Bello was joined by Lasse Jensen of Denmark, who holed seven birdies, and Daniel Gaunt of England, who overcame a bogey with eight birdies on the Eichenried Golf Club course.

The early leader, Andrew Johnston of England, finished one stroke behind after starting on the 10th hole with a bogey, then carding seven birdies for a 66.

Five players were tied for fifth on 67, including Henrik Stenson, the champion in 2006. The Swede recovered from a triple bogey on the par-4 16th with eight birdies altogether.