Rory McIlroy (-8) continues to flirt with the top spots in the now called Cognizant Classic, formerly known as Honda Classic. He repeats the numbers from the first day and with another four under par, he settles in the top 10 of the tournament and is three strokes away from a Bud Culey (-11) who just before the day was suspended due to lack of light, achieved a birdie on hole 18 and remained at the front of the tournament alone with a one-stroke advantage over Garrick Higgo and Austin Eckroat (-10) at PGA National Resort.
The reality is that Rory has no chance of becoming the World Number One in this tournament, but a victory in Palm Beaches would bring the Northern Irishman much closer to the top of the world ranking. With a win in this tournament, he would simply have to surpass Scottie Scheffler in the Arnold Palmer table to reclaim the throne. There is still a lot of tournament left, but Rory is starting to smell blood and the Northern Irish shark has its fangs sharpened this week.
The story of the leader Cauley has its thing. He is playing his second tournament after almost four years away from the PGA Tour. Bud had a very serious car accident while competing in Ohio at the Memorial in June 2018. He fractured six ribs, broke a leg and a lung collapsed. He was able to recover and resume his career as a player, but the rib injury never fully healed. In 2020 he had to stop completely and leave golf and that’s where a real ordeal of operations began. Culey himself told his wife last year that if the umpteenth intervention didn’t work, it would be time to look for other goals outside of golf, that he was leaving it. The operation was a complete success and Bud has been able to return to the courts thanks to the medical exemption he has held since 2020. He has 27 tournaments to try to maintain playing rights. With weeks like this, it seems he will have no problem keeping it and who knows if he will be able to achieve his first victory on the circuit. The American dream.
Three matches were left without being able to finish the day among which was a Jorge Campillo (-2) who was close to being able to pass the cut. Two tournaments and almost two cuts passed. We say almost because when he stood on the 18th just on the cut line and after a great start that gave a lot of tranquility to pass the cut, the day was suspended due to lack of light. Anyway and less than one hole left, Campillo continues to add a lot in his rookie season as a member of the PGA Tour. A veteran who knows what it is to wait and patiently wait for his moment.
Yesterday Jorge signed a dubious start at PGA National and handed in a par card that placed him beyond the top 90. To give himself a chance to pass the cut he needed to tighten and he has done so civilly… and criminally. It is the sixteenth tournament of his career valid in the PGA Tour and he has in his hand to pass the seventh cut.
If one saw Jorge’s card, they might think that the first nine holes have been quiet after eight pars and a birdie. Nothing could be further from the truth. After a good start from the tee, Jorge left himself a birdie opportunity of five meters that he could not convert and in the second he converted two putts to stay at par. The first birdie of the day came in the most unexpected way and after missing the start on the first par five of the day. Jorge had to play the second shot to place it in the street, and from there looking for a flag he went to the right of the green with the third shot leaving a 20 meter approach. Not even the par was assured when the ‘spanish hands’ of Campillo have done their magic and he has holed the chip. As we said, in the least successful hole the birdie has arrived, but in the sixth flag he has saved the par after having gone to the water. In the card a par was noted, the taste was of birdie. He finished the first round one under par, still insufficient to pass the cut.
In the second nine Jorge needed to gain one more stroke to the field and he achieved it as soon as he started, on hole ten. However, on the eleventh came the big stumble of the day. Double bogey after visiting the water again, this time he could not avoid the error and everything returned to the starting square (par of the day) but with only seven holes ahead. Jorge stood on the tee of the twelfth as if nothing had happened and with a great seven-meter putt he recovered from the previous error. He needed one more hit that would come on hole 16 after a 140-meter iron that has left practically given and holed the putt without difficulty. When everything pointed to Jorge passing his second consecutive cut… the horn came and suspension due to lack of light. Jorge has it in his hand, the ball in the street on the par five of hole 18 and after a great start of almost 290 yards. Tomorrow from 7 in the morning local time he will play a ‘par 4’ with the remaining 225 meters, only a bogey would take him out of the tournament.
Among the highlights of the day we find the hole in one that Nick Dunlap has achieved in what has been the fastest ace in history. He has only needed seven tournaments on the circuit to achieve it. A special boy.
