Page 19 - ATD27Febr2016

SPORTS A19
Rickie Fowler takes the
lead at Honda Classic
DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
PALM BEACH GARDENS,
Fla. (AP) — Rickie Fowler
kept bogeys off his card for the fairway and managed
the second straight round
Friday for a 4-under 66 and
the early lead in the Honda
Classic.
In some respects, it was
identical to Fowler’s open-
ing round — no bogeys,
another 66 in windy condi-
tions and a big par save on
his 10th hole. Having start- reach 8-under 132.
ed on the back nine, Fowl-
er worked himself out of his ie-eagle, holing a 40-foot
toughest spot well right of
to get up-and-down for par
to keep some momentum.
Otherwise, this was a clean
day. His longest par putt
was 12 feet on the fourth
hole after driving into the
bunker, and he ended his
round with a 25-foot birdie
putt on the ninth hole to
Jimmy Walker finished bird-
putt on the 18th hole for a
66 and was one shot be-
hind. Sergio Garcia had a
69 and was another stroke
back. Fowler is the first per-
son to go bogey-free over
the opening 36 holes at
the Honda Classic since
it moved to PGA Nation-
al in 2007. “I’m definitely
pleased about that,” Fowl-
er said. “Got a nice break
on 1 to kind of continue
that. But yeah, I kept my-
self in it with some up-and-
downs, made some good
putts, and then continued
to move forward. Made a
couple birdies coming in,
so it was a little bit of a bo- too shabby, either. Even
nus there at the last.”
Rory McIlroy was hopeful
of a bonus to keep playing.
He headed home after
a 72 and it was uncertain
if he would be back this
week. McIlroy took a triple
bogey on the par-5 fifth —
his 14th hole of the round
— and a birdie on the fi-
nal hole put him at 4-over
144. He would not speak
to reporters as he left the
course.
It would be the second
straight year for McIlroy to
miss the cut.
Fowler has bounced back
nicely from giving up a two-
shot lead with two holes to
play in his last tournament
at the Phoenix Open. And
Saturday 27 February 2016
Rickie Fowler watches his tee shot on the 14th hole during the
second round of the Honda Classic golf tournament, Friday, Feb.
26, 2016, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Associated Press
he put in some good prac- Riviera last week, though
tice last week after return- he has been steady since
ing home to Florida. a tweak to his swing in the
The scores didn’t count, offseason. Except for Riv-
but they were impressive. iera, he has not finished
Fowler set the course record lower than a tie for 13th
at The Medalist with a 66 since October.
(he broke his own record), So far, the 18th hole has
and the next day went up been kind to him. On Thurs-
to The Floridian and shot 60 day, Walker went into the
to break the course record water and made a 12-foot
that had been held by Jus- putt to escape with par. On
tin Thomas. Friday, he was trying to lag
“Pretty good accomplish- his long eagle attempt and
ment,” he said. “luckily, the hole got in the
The first two days of the Hon- way.”
da Classic haven’t been Garcia held his own for a
big part of the round until
though he lost the late lead he three-putted for bogey
in Phoenix and missed the on his 10th hole (No. 1)
cut at Torrey Pines, Fowler and Fowler built his lead by
has been quietly moving making birdies.
into the conversation of “Tomorrow is going to be
the elite players this year. an important day,” Garcia
He finished fifth at Kapalua said. “Rickie is playing re-
to start 2016, won against ally, really well, so I’m going
a strong field in Abu Dhabi to have to play extremely
that included Jordan Spi- well to keep up with him.
eth and McIlroy, and now is We’ll see. Hopefully we
the player to catch at PGA have a good chance on
National. Sunday. See what we can
Walker missed the cut at do.”q