The wind blew, the golf course raised its best defenses, and PGA Tour pros struggled through a difficult Saturday at the 2020 Honda Classic. Here are the main storylines and everything you may have missed from the third round at PGA National.
PGA National bites back
While plenty of players put on solid performances in Round 3 (See: Fleetwood, Tommy) they did so in spite of the extremely tough conditions that greeted the players on Saturday. PGA National is one of the hardest, if not the hardest course on Tour every year, even on its kindest day. But with the wind blowing and greens speeding up, scores plummeted.
Only 11 players finished in red numbers on Saturday, with only six bettering a score of one under. Through 54 holes, there are now only 13 players under par for the tournament, making this event much more like a U.S. Open than a typical Tour stop.
Fleetwood charges into lead
Among the contenders through two rounds, Englishman Tommy Fleetwood was the only one to shoot under par on Saturday. Fleetwood countered three third-round bogeys with six birdies, including closing birdies on 17 and 18, to shoot a three-under 67, moving him to five under for the tournament. Incredibly, that’s good enough for a one-shot lead over Brendan Steele. Fleetwood, who is currently ranked No. 12 in the OWGR, has five European Tour wins in his career, but he has yet to secure a PGA Tour victory.
