2013
began with incredible hype over the rivalry between Rory McIlroy and
Tiger Woods, Nike announcing Rory as their new “athlete” and the
media seemed to forget about the rest of the field. Abu Dhabi proved
to be a complete disaster for both McIlroy and Woods as they crashed
out in contrasting fashion, Woods then went on to win at Torrey Pines
whilst McIlroy went back to the range to practice with his new clubs
and iron out the clear swing flaws seen in the first tournament of
the season for the world number one. The next time we saw the pair
together was last week at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
in Arizona, but that too was a fleeting glimpse as they both were
sent packing on the first day by the 64th and 63rd
seeds respectively. So this week at PGA National the world's top two
golfers and the top two from the 2012 Honda Classic came in as the
headline acts. Tiger Woods made the cut, by the narrowest of margins
with two rounds of 70, but for Rory McIlroy these are testing times,
both on and off the course as his swing continues to falter and the
media continue to question his decision to move to Nike and whether
the equipment is suitable for him. Unfortunately for Rory the
questions and doubting intensified on Friday due to the manner he
withdrew from the tournament following a disastrous first nine holes
saw him crash to 7-over-par. The World Number One then decided to
withdraw citing severe pain in his wisdom tooth, a claim confirmed by
his manager and the 23-year-old following his exit from the course.
His
playing partners Ernie Els and Mark Wilson later cast some doubt on
McIlroy's motives and social media was immediately abuzz with
criticism in most sections of the media and fans, with most casting
aspersions on the Northern Irishman's claims he withdrew because of
wisdom tooth pain. The one thing we know more about McIlroy than
anything else is he is honest, he says what he thinks and sometimes
that has made him look immature or naïve, but he is honest. So I am
not going to doubt the reasons for his withdrawal. Some ask would he
have withdrawn if he was 7-under rather than 7-over? Well to me that
is a ridiculous question to ask, because if he wasn't in pain then
who knows whether he would have shot a low score or not? If he was
pain free then he may well have performed better or he may not. I do
not believe a fully fit McIlroy would have walked in because he was
playing badly, that just isn't the behaviour of the current World
Number One. Surely he would have walked in on the Friday at the
Olympic Club because he was playing badly, or any other event he
wasn't at his best, to suggest that The Honda Classic is any
different is just nonsense. A very similar situation can be cited,
Tiger Woods withdrew after a terrible first 10 holes in the final
round of the 2012 WGC-Cadillac Championship the former world number
one withdrew and left the course in a hurry in a blacked out car
citing Achilles problems, hardly any hype over that incident.
To be honest as I said in my preview I didn't see either Woods or McIlroy as favourites for the title this week, Woods may well emerge as a contender by Saturday evening but I doubt it. I certainly didn't expect a Web.com Tour graduate to lead a field of such quality but that is exactly the situation this Friday evening, World Number 106 Luke Guthrie shot a fabulous Friday 63 to end the second round at 9-under-par and a stroke ahead of Michael Thompson. Just three shots back though is one of the four men I tipped at the start of the week, Lee Westwood is looking better and better with every round I see of him in 2013, it is clear that the move to South Florida has had an impact on a usually slow starting Englishman. On a Major Championship course set up with thick rough and fast greens, exposed to the elements, Westwood has made just 1 bogey in 36 holes along with 7 birdies to put himself right in contention for his 3rd PGA Tour win and a 38th Official Worldwide win of his career. One of the other men I tipped, Graeme McDowell, is also in contention at 5-under, he is one stroke behind Justin Rose, who is tied with Westwood at -6. The 2012 WGC-Cadillac Champion has had a great run of late and four birdies and fourteen pars on Friday moved him into contention for a second Florida win of his career.
The cut fell at level par and just nine shots will cover 75 players at the start of the weekend. Potentially a thrilling final two rounds await us in the 2013 Honda Classic.
Live coverage of the third round begins at 9amET (2pmGMT) on Live@ on PGATOUR.com and continues in full on Golf Channel at 1pm, followed by NBC at 3pm. Sky Sports in the UK will be on air at 6pmGMT.
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