Sergio Garcia didn’t waste any time making a great shot on Thursday at the Honda Classic.
Garcia pulled an eight-iron from his bag for a 142-yard second shot at the par four second hole, wind in has face. The shot hit two feet from the hole then found the bottom of the cup for an eagle two that helped the Spaniard shoot an opening 65 that gave him the lead at the difficult PGA National Champions course.
“It was very tough, windy, a lot of long irons in,” said Garcia, who played in the afternoon wave along with Rickie Fowler. “I made one bogey, Rickie made no bogeys,” Garcia said of the day. Garcia’s only bogey came at the par four sixth when his tee shot found a water hazard on the left side of the hole. He took off his shoes, rolled up his pants, kept his eye on a nearby alligator, then managed to advance the ball 90 yards down the fairway.
Fowler found no hazards. It was his first bogey-free round at the difficult layout and he was happy with his opening effort. “I think we got a good break. The wind laid down a little in the afternoon, still didn’t play easy,” said Fowler, who birdied the last hole for a four-under round of 66. “A nice solid round to start the week. I’m comfortable, I’ve played well here.”
Late in the afternoon, Michael Thompson birdied his final hole of the day, the 18th, to share the lead with Garcia.
William McGirt was in with Fowler at four-under.
Jimmy Walker was one of five players at three-under, 67.
The winds blew 15-20 in the morning, 10-15 in the afternoon. Phil Mickleson was in the morning wave and shot a one-under par 69.
In all, only 22 players in the field broke par on the course that typically ranks among the four toughest on the PGA Tour.
Rory McIlroy botched his final hole of the day when he three-putted from eight feet and finished with a two-over par 72.
Open champion Zach Johnson put up a 75. Jason Kokrak, who played so well in Los Angeles last week, left his game on the west coast. He shot 79.
The field averaged more than two-shots over par for the first round.
