Lowry moves into position at Honda Classic as McKibbin and Murphy shine in Durban
Shane Lowry
Shane Lowry added a three-under 67 to his opening 70 to move into the top 10 in the Honda Classic but the Offaly man knows he must put four rounds together at PGA National if he’s to contend for a title in his adopted home town.
The world number 50 is tied for eighth on three-under, seven strokes behind Daniel Berger, who shot a second successive 65 to lead by three strokes in the clubhouse from Chris Kirk (68) and Kurt Kitayama (69) on 10-under.
Lowry was tied fifth on seven-under at halfway last year but faded to tied 36th on one-over in the end after a brace of 74s at the weekend.
The Champion Tour and its deadly Bear Trap run from the 15th to the 17th is one of the most demanding courses on the PGA TOUR and Lowry will be looking to continue his
Lowry hit a 158-yard approach to 18 inches at the second, then hit a wedge to eight feet at the eighth and made the putt to turn in 33.
He hit another wedge close at the 13th to get to three-under, bogeyed the 170-yard 15th after bunkering his tee shot but then rolled in a 20 footer at the tough, 436-yard 16th before missing a 10 footer for another birdie at the last.
Berger, who lost to Harrington in a playoff in 2015, is looking forward to performing for his fans over the weekend.
"Every tournament I play in, I want to win," said Berger, who lives locally. "But it would be especially nice to win here having so many friends and family here with me this week.”
Two-time winner Pádraig Harrington missed the cut in West Palm Beach for the fifth time in a row as he made one birdie and one bogey in the level par 70 to finish a shot outside the mark on three-over.
The Dubliner (50) was better from tee to green but he never hit the ball close enough and managed just two single putts in a 33 putt round.
On the Challenge Tour, teenage sensation Tom McKibbin fired a four-under 68 to lead the Irish into the weekend in the Challenge Tour's Jonsson Workwear Open in Durban, but he has his work cut out to catch runaway leader JC Ritchie.
The Holywood star birdied five of his last six holes at Durban Country Club to move up to tied fifth on nine-under, but he's nine shots behind in-form South African Ritchie, who shot a bogey-free, nine-under-par round for the second day running.
Bidding for back to back wins following his successful title defence in last week's Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open, the burly South African (28) added a 63 to his opening 61 at Mount Edgecombe Country Club to lead by six strokes from compatriot Jbe Kruger on 18-under par.
McKibbin, who is seventh in the Road to Mallorca rankings after finishing tied third last week, made two birdies and two bogeys in his first ten holes before catching fire,
He birdied the 13th and 14th, bogeyed the 15th but then birdied the last three holes.
Back to back wins would leave Richie just one win shy of automatic promotion to the DP World Tour.
"I am super chuffed," he said after making two eagles and five birdies. "I haven't played here much before - I think today was the third time I have ever played here.
"But I knew I was striking the ball well and if I could plot my way round, I could give myself a lot of chances, and luckily I was able to take advantage of those."
He added: "I go into my own little world out there sometimes. I create a quiet place in my head where I feel calm and it feels like I'm playing golf with my eyes closed. I'm just going to put my head down and keep doing what I'm doing."
Kinsale's John Murphy was the only Irishman to make the cut, getting through on the mark on four-under as he birdied his 17th hole for a three-under 67 at Mount Edgecombe.
“I didn’t play very well but I scrambled my way around,” Murphy said. “It was a big contrast to what I’ve been doing recently - playing very well but not getting very much out of it.
“So I was more satisfied with the results today than I have been with previous tournaments.
“I knew I was around the cutline and I chipped in on the 17th and then got up and down on the last. It was a nice way to finish and I will give it another go this weekend.”
Four of the other five Irishmen missed the cut by just one stroke.
Robin Dawson shot a two-under 68, Paul Dunne a four-under 66, Niall Kearney a three-under 67 — all at Mount Edgecombe — as Gavin Moynihan signed for a three-under 69 at Royal Dublin to leave them out in the cold on three-under.
Lucan's Richard O'Donovan, who is based on the Sunshine Tour, shot 76 at Royal Durban to finish well down the field on 13-under.
