Rookie Kyle Stanley in the lead by one stroke on day two of the Honda Classic – PGA Tour Update
The second round of Professional Golfer’s Association Tour Honda Classic commenced yesterday at the tough par-70 Spa-Champion course in Florida with the American rookie Kyle Stanley as the leader. Kyle leads the tournament by a mere margin of just one shot
over the South African Rory Sabbatini.
Bright shiny conditions suited a few players on the second day, as there were some under-par rounds during the second day yesterday. The wind will still remain a disruption on the third and the fourth day.
It was the youngster Stanley, who has been playing on the Nationwide Tour and does not have much experience on the PGA Tour, carded a round of four-under par, 66 on the second day and continued his dominance. There were two-bogeys on his card which came
on hole numbers 2 and 6, as he regained confidence by making six birdies on his card. The 23-year-old was very pleased to be at the top of the leader board and said that if he continues to play under par-rounds for the next two days, then he has a great chance
of winning.
The smiling Stanley after leading the tournament said, "The wind probably wasn't as strong as it was Thursday. Late in my round it wasn't really a factor."
The experienced and seasoned campaigner Rory Sabbatini, who has five PGA Tour victories in his career, shot a commendable round on the second day. His score of six-under par in his round equalled the course record. Sabbatini was enjoying the bright sunny
day and had seven-birdies on his card and a lone bogey. The only bogey came on the par-4, 6th where his approach shot missed the green and ended up in the bunker. The South African was more than satisfied from his round and was in exquisite touch
on the second day, as he only has a deficit of one shot over the leader and will be looking to take on the challenging course in the next two rounds.
Another South African, Charl Schwartzel had a rather moderate round of one-under par, 69 and is just two strokes behind the leader Stanley. He had three bogeys in his last four holes due to which he had to be content with one-under par. The 26-year-old also
had four birdies on his card, but was disappointed with a disastrous finish to the second day. Schwartzel is hoping to improve his score in the next round to improve his position on top of the leader board.
There is a four-way tie for the fourth spot with all the players having a two day score of two-under par. Youngster Ricky Barnes, Jerry Kelly, Stuart Appleby and Tommy Gainey all have a two-round aggregate score of 138 and have a deficit of four strokes
over the leader.
World number two, Lee Westwood is five behind the leader. The Englishman had a rather up and down second round of one-under par, 69 and was not in great shape with his hitting. Westwood needs to finish among the top three after the final round concludes
on Sunday to retain his number one ranking.
The cutline set for the Championship was six-over par and the defending champion Camilo Villegas failed to make it through. The third day will commence today and the leader is hoping to continue his momentum going in the next two rounds.
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