Monday Finish for Weather-Wracked Honda Classic


Two bad-weather suspensions Friday threw the schedule for the Honda Classic off track, forcing roughly half the field to finish up their second rounds Saturday morning. The players weren't even on the course for an hour in their third rounds before heavy rain, high winds and lightning came through Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and halted play for good.

As a result, the $6.1 million PGA Tour event at Champion course at PGA National will try to get back on schedule with the completion of the third round Sunday and the tournament carrying over to Monday for the final 18.

The weather was so bad that the scoreboard in the lake next to the 18th green was blown over and the Honda vehicle in the same water hazard was partially submerged. Only 24 of the 71 players who made the cut completed at least one hole in the third round.

"We've got pretty much a mess," said Slugger White, the tour's vice president of competition.

The forecast for Sunday is 30 percent chance of showers with temps in the low-80s and partly sunny conditions on Monday.

When play was called off for the day, Ireland's Padraig Harrington was atop the leaderboard. After opening with a 3-under 67, the three-time major champion posted a 66 to reach 7-under 133, a stroke clear of Patrick Reed, who's carded two straight 67s, and two in front of England's Ian Poulter (71, 64) and 31-year-old Californian Brendan Steele (66, 69).

England's Luke Donald (69, 67) heads into Sunday in solo fifth at 136, while another stroke back are American Jim Herman (65, 72) and Scotsman Russell Knox (69, 68).

Even Knox, no stranger to playing golf wild weather in his home country, was impressed with the deluge Saturday. "That's as bad as I've ever seen it rain," he said.

Harrington's had a tough season so far, missing five cuts in his past seven events on the PGA Tour, with his best finish a T-56 in last week's Northern Trust Open. But the 43-year-old Dubliner, a three-time major champion, is a seasoned veteran with a short memory. "I think I'm in a good place that I can deliver more performances like this," he told reporters.

"I feel like there's good days ahead, so, you know, I'm not thinking, 'Oh, I've got to do it and it will be a long time before it comes around again.' I feel I'm in a good place with my game and I feel I give myself plenty of opportunities like this going forward.

"It's nice to be in contention," Harrington added. "I'm very positive about my game coming in here this week. I don't know what's going to happen the next 36 holes, but I have a good idea where I'm going. I'm pretty confident."

Harrington could have crafted an even bigger lead but he bogeyed his final two holes (the par-4s at the eighth and ninth after starting play on the 10th tee).

"Through 27 holes, I was the most confident guy in the world, and less so at the moment," he said. "I know it's going to be a long weekend, and a tough weekend. I have two options. I can play well on the weekend or I can dig deep and hang in there."

Tied for eighth at 138 are Americans Phil Mickelson (71, 67) and Martin Flores (67, 71).

Playing in his season debut in the U.S., top-ranked Rory McIlroy missed the 36-hole cut of 4-over 142 after rounds of 73 and 74.

For updated scoring, visit http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html.