Scott, Garcia four strokes ahead
Adam Scott fired a four-under-par 66 and Sergio Garcia carded a three-under-par 67 to take a four-shot lead at The Honda Classic.
Scott and Garcia, who are on nine-under, are followed by Blayne Barber, who sits in third place on five-under.
Overnight leader Rickie Fowler fell down the leaderboard and is now in a tie for fourth with Justin Thomas on four-under.
Meanwhile, defending champion Padraig Harrington remains 12 strokes adrift of the lead after hitting a two-over-par 72.
Scott was in red-hot form on the front nine as he made five birdies, four of which came in a row from the sixth to ninth. However, it was at the sixth hole where Scott stole the spotlight as he converted an incredible 47-foot birdie putt.
Scott’s superb form continued at the beginning of the back nine as he made consecutive birdies at the 12th and 13th before he saw his three-shot lead evaporate when he recorded a quadruple bogey after finding the water twice at the par-three 15th. However, Scott still managed to finish in a share of the lead thanks to his nine-foot birdie putt at the 17th.
Garcia, who shared the lead with 2013 champion Michael Thompson at the end of the first round, also enjoyed a successful front nine as he made a hat-trick of birdies from the third to fifth before another followed at the eighth. However, the Spaniard faltered on the back nine as he made two bogeys at the 15th and 17th before making a birdie at the 18th.
Barber, who fired a one-under-par 69, made two birdies and a bogey during the front nine, but had a quieter back nine as he registered just one birdie and a bogey.
Fowler had a day to forget as he carded a four-over-par 74, which began with him finding the water at the third, where he recorded a bogey. Two more bogeys followed at the sixth and ninth before the world number five missed a seven-foot par putt to register his fourth bogey of the round at the 14th.
Meanwhile, Harrington plunged down 15 spots on the leaderboard after his round of 72, which consisted of three birdies and five bogeys.
Latest
-
News‘It’s fun in some ways’ – Covid rules mean no Open house-share for Jordan Spieth
Since 2016 Spieth and several good friends and fellow golfers have stayed in the same property with their wives and a personal chef for Open week.
-
NewsBrooks Koepka reveals origin of feud with Bryson DeChambeau ahead of Open
Koepka held court at Royal St George’s on Tuesday.
-
NewsJon Rahm reveals club foot is reason for distinctive short backswing
Rahm, who is the favourite to win the Open Championship this week, says he has “physical limitations” which affect the way he plays all sports.
-
NewsTommy Fleetwood hopes to bring the Claret Jug ‘home’ after 29-year absence
The Southport golfer is aiming to become the first English golfer since Nick Faldo in 1992 at Muirfield to win the Open Championship.
-
Dave TindallThe Open Championship: Can Shane Lowry reproduce his Royal Portrush magic?
A look at how past winners have fared when defending the Claret Jug and whether 2019 hero Shane Lowry is a good bet to challenge again.
-
NewsDefending champion Shane Lowry admits the Open ‘bubble’ could work in his favour
Lowry had the Claret Jug in his possession until Monday morning after last year’s Open was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
-
NewsTommy Fleetwood eager to end blip by winning first major at ‘special’ Open
The 30-year-old believes he is close to recapturing his best form as he prepares for Royal St George’s.
-
Matt CooperThe Sandwich epiphany: Bones Mackay on Phil Mickelson’s linksland learning curve
He lifted the Claret Jug at Muirfield in 2013, but the seeds of Mickelson’s Open success were sown two years earlier.
-
NewsRory McIlroy wants to learn lessons from poor Open preparation of two years ago
The Northern Irishman never recovered from starting his home Open with a quadruple-bogey eight.
-
NewsDream comes true for Min Woo Lee with Scottish Open play-off victory
The Australian was inspired by Novak Djokovic’s success at Wimbledon.