Harrington leads stormy Honda Classic
But there are still plenty of holes left
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — A massive rainstorm that settled over PGA National Resort & Spa early Saturday afternoon forced the stoppage of the third round of the Honda Classic. Play will resume this morning, which means the tournament will conclude Monday, weather permitting.
Padraig Harrington was at 7-under-par 133 for two rounds and had a one-shot lead over Patrick Reed. It’s Harrington’s first 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour in nearly five years.
PGA Tour rules official Slugger White said the condition of the Champion course, which received four inches of rain Saturday, would not allow play to resume before 10 a.m. EST. With the later start, White said players will not be repaired for the final round. Instead, they will play in t he same threesomes after finishing the third round (today), “as long as we can, right up to dark, and then finish on Monday morning.”
Wind gusts up to 55 mph were reported during the worst of the storm, which flooded the course’s greens and fairways, as well as some roads.
Ken Kennerly, Honda Classic executive director, said there was damage to some concession stands, but everyone was safely evacuated from the golf course.
The start of the third round was delayed because of Friday’s storm-delayed second round, which was stopped twice for a total of 3 hours, 44 minutes because of rain and lightning. The second round was completed Saturday morning by the 67 players who had failed to finish.
After the cut was set at 4-over-par 144 — Rory McIlroy missed it at 147 — the first of the 71 players who survived teed off on the first and 10th holes at noon.
Harrington played the final 12 holes of his second round Saturday morning and ended up with a 4-under-par 66. Along with his opening 67, that gave him a 133 total and a one-shot lead over Reed, who shot 67s Thursday and Friday.
“I was really happy with my game,” Harrington said. “Came back this morning and it was great again. When I turned for home, I struggled a little bit.”
LPGA: In Chonburi, Thailand, American Stacy Lewis had a 1-over 73 for a onestroke lead over South Korea’s Amy Yang in the Honda LPGA Thailand.
The third-ranked Lewis took a three-shot lead into the day after opening with rounds of 66 and 64 on Siam Country Club’s Pattaya Old Course. She had a 13-under 203 total.
NEW ZEALAND WOMEN’S
OPEN: In Christchurch, New Zealand, top-ranked Lydia Ko broke the course-record with a career-best 11-under 61 to take the second-round lead. The 17-year-old New Zealander, coming off a victory in the Women’s Australian Open, broke the Clearwater record of 63 set last year by Mi Hyang Lee in her victory. Ko rebounded from an opening bogey with an eagle on the par-5 second and birdied Nos. 4-7, 9-13 and 18. She had a 13-under 131 total.