Tim Petrovic needed just 30 strokes to navigate the front nine at The Broadmoor on Friday.

He once needed nearly that many tours just to stay afloat as a professional golfer.

Australian Tour. Moonlight Tour. Teardrop Tour. Plus Nationwide, Hooters, Nike, Canadian, Buy.com and Tommy Armour. He toured them all. And then some.

“I always kid around, I say the book’s coming out someday,” said Petrovic, whose second-round 65 at the U.S. Senior Open left him at 3-under par for the tournament — two back of leader Jerry Kelly and one behind Miguel Angel Jimenez.

If Petrovic’s round seemed like a late-blooming success — a dizzying six birdies over the final eight holes after starting on the back nine — it’s nothing compared to the arc of his career.

He supplemented his golf career with jobs delivering newspapers and working at the YMCA. He and his wife, Julie, would work shifts together at Pizza Hut and sneak home milk when a $5 gallon was more than they could afford.

“We were happy,” Petrovic said. “We had a routine going. We never complained about it.”

Rock bottom occurred when they moved to Florida for a mini-tour, only to find out after arrival that their lone sponsor was pulling out. They had $1,500 to their name, faced the prospect of $300 tournament entry fees and had to come up with rent.

But just when he was ready to give up golf, he would have a finish that paid for the next week. Eventually the paychecks paid for another year. Then it was a full-fledged career, just in time for the birth of their first daughter in 1999.

“That kind of wakes you up a little bit,” Petrovic said. “You’ve got a responsibility now. The timing was perfect.”

Petrovic’s timing was impeccable on Friday, too. He found his putting stroke on No. 2, just in time for a front nine that has proved far more prone to birdies than the back.

It wasn’t quite enough to catch Kelly, who was Petrovic’s teammate at the University of Hartford. Kelly followed his first-round 66 with a 69 to maintain his narrow advantage despite a rocky round that included three bogeys and four birdies.

“Disappointed and encouraged,” Kelly said. “That’s the combination you can live with.”

Jimenez posted a bogey-free round for his second straight 68.

Davis Love III charged into contention and is part of a five-way tie for fourth at 1-under.

Those players have hoisted trophies with regularity over the course of their careers. Not Petrovic.

His lone win on the PGA Tour came in 2005. He came close last month with a second-place finish at the Senior Players Championship.

But he doesn’t need a win to validate anything. His wife stuck with him. He has earned a healthy living. He’s still out here, and there were times he didn’t think that would be the case.

“To have the career I did from where I came from, it’s pretty much an uphill climb,” said Petrovic, whose 65 is the lowest round of the tournament. “But I never gave up and I always, I always, kind of saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

“I think there’s enough for a book someday.”