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Here’s what you missed from Round 2 of the Honda Classic

February 29, 2020

We’re halfway through the Tour’s first event of the Florida swing, the Honda Classic, and PGA National’s Champion course is playing tough, with only 23 players in the red through two rounds.

Here’s everything you missed from Friday’s action in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Brendan Steele leads by one

Despite suffering a bogey on his 18th hole, Brendan Steele managed to best his Thursday round by one shot, firing 68-67 to reach five under par overall, which is good enough to lead the field by one shot heading into the weekend.

The 36-year-old Tour veteran has three career wins under his belt, but is looking for his first victory since the 2018 Safeway Open. Steele has been close in recent weeks, with a runner-up finish at this year’s Sony Open.

Who else is in the hunt?

J.T. Poston, Luke Donald and recent European Tour champ Lee Westwood are T2 at four under par overall, one stroke behind Steele’s lead. Four more players are two shots back in T5, including Gary Woodland and Nick Watney. And at two under overall (three shots back), there are six players (T9), including Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood and Charl Schwartzel.

What happened to Brooks and Rickie?

Unfortunately for Kopeka, birdies were few and far between over the past two rounds — and big numbers were just as prevalent. Uncharacteristically, Kopeka suffered a triple and a double in Round 1, and two doubles in Round 2, which all but eliminated any chance he had of seeing the weekend. Kopeka ended up with back-to-back rounds of 74, and missed the cut by five shots.

Fowler also missed the cut, but his rounds didn’t include disasters as much as run-of-the-mill bogeys. His opening round of six-over-par 76 put him in a tough spot for a comeback Friday, and even his two-under-par 68 in Round 2 wasn’t enough to save him. At four over par overall, he missed the weekend by one shot.

What about the other big names?

Kopeka and Fowler weren’t the only one in the recognizable-name set to make an early exit at the Honda. Last week’s Puerto Rico Open champ Viktor Hovland (+10) is also heading home, as well as Louis Oosthuizen (+9), Justin Rose (+6) and Jim Furyk (+6).

Big names that will be sticking around, however, include Zach Johnson (+2), Jimmy Walker (+1), Billy Horschel (E) and Ian Poulter (E).

How can I watch Round 3?

You can catch Saturday’s action from 1-3 p.m. ET on Golf Channel, then on NBC from 3-6 p.m. ET.

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