Rookie Justin Suh soars into lead at Honda Classic
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[February 25, 2023]
Justin Suh fired a 6-under 64, the lowest round of his PGA Tour
career, to take the 36-hole lead at the Honda Classic on Friday in
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Suh recovered from an early bogey by making six birdies between
holes No. 6-13, then added an 8-footer at the par-5 18th for his
seventh and final birdie of the day at PGA National Resort.
That last putt allowed him to enter the weekend at 10-under 130, one
stroke ahead of Chris Kirk, who posted the low round of the day with
an 8-under 62 to reach 9-under 131.
"I think we played it pretty conservative, but aggressive to our
spots," Suh said. "We definitely left ourselves some opportunities,
but I thought we just hit it to the right spots on the green.
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"We made some long lag putts that fortunately just went in, and
that's always a key to some good weeks, so hopefully we just keep it
rolling."
Suh, 25, won the Korn Ferry Tour Championship last September to earn
full status for this PGA Tour season. The rookie's best finish this
season was a T20 at last month's Farmers Insurance Open.
"It feels good," Suh said of leading the tournament. "You know, I
think we've been trending in the right direction. Every week I've
been improving and just certain spots, and I think it's gratifying
just to see the progressive work pay off."
Kirk, a tour veteran and four-time winner, made an eagle at the
par-5 third and added six birdies while keeping his card free of
bogeys. He made a 19-foot putt for the eagle, later adding a
left-to-right 29 1/2-footer for birdie at the par-4 13th.
Kirk missed a birdie putt at the last hole that would have tied the
course record. The 37-year-old will be in the last group Saturday
with Suh.
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"I definitely am not doubting any of the young
talent coming out here," said Kirk, who hasn't won since 2015. "It's
a lot of really good young guys that hit it a lot further than me
and are playing with a lot of confidence. I think you'll continue to
see that week after week."
Tied for third at 8 under are Ryan Gerard (63) and
Englishman Ben Taylor (65).
Gerard, who qualified for the field on Monday, is making his second
professional start. He holed a 22-foot eagle putt at No. 3 and
finished with six birdies and one bogey.
"This is my dream ever since I was a little kid, just playing PGA
Tour events," Gerard said. "I'm still on the road there, not
officially made it yet, but I just really enjoy playing golf."
Ben Martin (64), Brice Garnett (64) and Eric Cole (66) are tied for
fifth at 7 under.
Three players were still playing their final hole when play was
suspended due to darkness. Pierceson Coody and Australian Brett
Drewitt will need to make a par or better when they return Saturday
in order to make the cut of 1 over. Andrew Novak (2 under) just
needs to avoid a quadruple bogey.
Notable names to miss the cut include Charley Hoffman (2 over), Matt
Kuchar (4 over), Harris English (4 over) and England's Luke Donald
(7 over).
--Field Level Media
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