Luke Guthrie leads, Rory McIlroy withdraws from the Honda Classic
Luke Guthrie, one of the 2013 PGA Tour rookies, fired a seven-under par 63, in the second round of the Honda Classic, to enter the weekend with a one-stroke lead over Michael Thompson, on Friday, March 1, 2012.
The tournament is being staged at the PGA National Champion Course at Palm Beach Gardens, featuring some of the best PGA Tour players from different parts of the world.
Guthrie made his professional debut last year, on the Web.com Tour. In his first five starts, he recorded four top-10 finishes, and secured his first professional victory at the Albertsons Boise Open.
He then added another title to his resume by winning the WNB Golf Classic. As a result, he comfortably secured his card for the 2013 PGA Tour season.
He now appears to leave an impression on the PGA Tour, by taking home his first PGA Tour title in Florida.
He started his second-round campaign on the back nine of the course and recorded three birdies to reach the turn in three-under.
The front nine of the course also witnessed him record four birdie putts, without conceding a single bogey, to finish on top of the leaderboard.
He now plans to remain consistent on the weekend, in a bid to finish the tournament on top of the leaderboard.
The world number one Rory McIlroy, in the meantime, left the field, after he went seven-over par through seven holes on day two.
He conceded a double bogey, a triple bogey and two bogeys, before hitting his tee shot, on the 18th hole, into the water hazard. As result, he decided to withdraw from the tournament and walked out of the course.
Talking to the reporters, he told that his sore wisdom tooth was the main reason behind his poor performance.
"I sincerely apologize to The Honda Classic and PGA Tour for my sudden withdrawal," McIlroy said. "I have been suffering with a sore wisdom tooth, which is due to come out in the near future. I was simply unable to concentrate. It was really bothering me
and had begun to affect my playing partners."
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