Rickie Fowler has the 36-hole lead at the Honda Classic and he deserves it.
All he’s done is negotiate two days around the difficult Champions course without a bogey and he’s the only man in the field to do that.
Fowler put another 66 on the board Friday and he’s in at eight-under par, good enough for a one-shot lead over Jimmy Walker. Walker equaled Fowler’s 66 and he’s in at seven-under par.
Sergio Garcia, the first-round co-leader, was two back of Fowler after shooting 69.
Late in the afternoon, Adam Scott posted a sparkling 65 that got him to five-under and in position to challenge over the weekend.
The scores get higher quickly after that. The 36-hole cut line was sitting at three-over par late in the afternoon and Rory McIlroy was sweating it out to see if the cut line would move to four-over by day’s end. McIlroy was sitting at four-over after shooting a second 72. But the cut line never moved and Rory went home to his intercoastal mansion to ponder his poor putting performance.
The Champions course demands solid ball-striking and that’s what Fowler has done the first 36-holes. I’ve been swinging well. Nice to hit fairways and greens and that is what you have to do on this course. Got a couple of putts to go and got some birdies at the end,” he said. “Definitely played well the first two days and looking forward to the weekend,” said Fowler, who has a home about 15 minutes from PGA National on the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter.
Fowler moved to the neighborhood five years ago. “The course, the wind, grass types, I’ve had plenty of time to get used to it,” Fowler pointed out after his morning round.
Wind conditions were lighter on Friday, but there was still enough of a breeze to make the course a tough test for most of the field.
