Byeong Hun An takes 1-stroke lead at Wyndham Championship

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Brendan Steele made a couple of big mistakes down the stretch, and still was good enough to grab the outright lead at the midpoint of The Honda Classic. Related: Leaderboard | Koepka and Fowler miss cut at The Honda Classic Steele shot a 3-under 67 on Friday, getting to 5 under for the week and putting himself a shot clear of J.T. Poston (69), Lee Westwood (69) and Luke Donald (66) after the second round at PGA National. This is Steele’s ninth time playing the Honda and the first time he’s ended any round at PGA National with the lead. He missed the cut last year by 10 shots, but most of what he’s doing so far this year has worked — that is, until he made bogey on two of his last three holes Friday. “My first few years here I couldn’t quite figure it out,” Steele said. “I thought maybe it wasn’t a good course for me. … I don’t feel like it’s a course you can just jump out your first time and have it nailed. You have to see it in all the different winds and conditions that you have.” The cut was 3 over, and most of the biggest names in the field aren’t sticking around for the weekend. Among them: Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose and defending champion Keith Mitchell. Koepka shot a 4-over 74 for the second consecutive day and missed the cut by five shots. Fowler (68) missed an eagle putt at the par-5 18th that would have gotten him to the weekend and fell a shot shy, Rose (74) was 6 over and missed by three shots, while Mitchell (72) missed by five shots. “You can rack up some big numbers pretty quick,” Koepka said. Steele had a chance to take an even bigger lead into the weekend. The famed Bear Trap, PGA National’s stretch of holes 15-17, has never been overly kind to Steele — who was 26 over on those three holes in 31 rounds on that triumvirate before Friday. But his tee ball on the par-3 15th went around the back of the hole before lipping out and stopping inches shy of an ace, and he followed that up with another birdie on the par-3 17th. Thing was, the 16th and 18th got him. A bogey on the par-4 16th was the first miscue, and then his approach sailed over the green at the finishing hole to lead to another dropped shot. Still, the three-time winner on the PGA TOUR — the last of those coming when he went back-to-back at the Safeway Open in 2018 — left more than satisfied. “I think a course like this always suits me a little bit better,” Steele said. “I feel like I can make birdies on this course maybe more than other guys can, and I don’t necessarily feel that way a lot of weeks. … That gives me some confidence, and I definitely feel like harder is usually better for me.” Steele missed a chance for a victory in January in Hawaii, falling to Cameron Smith in a playoff after taking a three-stroke lead into the final round at the Sony Open. U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland put himself squarely in the mix with a 67 and thinks there’s a simple reason why tough courses like PGA National appeal to him. “I think it’s definitely mental,” Woodland said. “I probably focus a little bit more. You’ve got to hit shots out here. You’ve got to work the golf ball both ways. You’ve got to ride the wind. I love playing in the wind. But this golf course is as demanding as we see, so you’ve got to be ready from the get-go.” Woodland was tied for fifth at 3 under with Sepp Straka (67), Cameron Davis (67) and Nick Watney (66). Donald got into the mix as well, looking for his first win in the U.S. since 2012 and the first anywhere since 2013. Donald had the best round of the day at 66, tied with a pair of South Korean players — Byeong Hun An and Sungjae Im. “It’s probably been a little bit of a lean stretch,” Donald said. “But yeah, I feel like I’ve been making progress in the last four months with my swing and feeling more comfortable on the golf course.” Zach Johnson briefly got to 5 under, then posted consecutive bogeys — and hit real trouble on the par-4 11th. His second shot went into the water, ending up in a muddy spot just at the edge of some long grass. Johnson elected to play his third from there, trying to knock the ball skyward toward the green — but only managing to bury it further into the mud. Johnson had to retreat about 125 yards back up the fairway, played another approach and two-putted from 45 feet for a triple-bogey 7. Just like that, he went from tied for sixth and one shot back to tied for 23rd and four shots off the lead. He finished with a 75, going to 2 over for the week.

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Landon Donovan is generally regarded as the best American male soccer player of all time, so accomplished the Major League Soccer's MVP award is named in his honor. On Wednesday, though, the 38-year-old steps outside his comfort zone to play with Tony Finau against Paul Casey and singer Jake Owen in the American Express Charity Challenge at PGA WEST in La Quinta, California. Donovan, who is co-owner and coach of the San Diego Loyal Soccer Club, took some time before the event to talk about how he got his start in golf and the particular skills he thinks set the game apart. PGATOUR.COM: You've been playing golf since you were in elementary school. What drew you to the game? DONOVAN: I believe it was in third grade. The reason I started was I was having some problems in school with my behavior and my parents told me that if I behaved well, they would take me on some sort of outing of my choosing. And I have no idea why one of the times I said I want to golf. And they were like, okay. So, I actually went out with my mom and started golfing. So, there’s a nostalgic piece of it. And then it’s kind of come and gone as I’ve been an adult — mainly based around my schedule and if I physically felt up to it or not when I was playing. But now that I’m coaching, there’s not a ton of time, but when I can I just love the sport. PGATOUR.COM: So how good a golfer are you? DONOVAN: Well, when I play a decent amount, I shoot in the low 80s. But I also don’t play from the tips. I don’t drive the ball particularly well, but my iron game and short game is OK by an average person’s standards. If I had to play from the tips at PGA WEST it probably would not be a pretty outcome, but I think they’re going to give us a little bit of leeway on some of the holes. PGATOUR.COM: Are you nervous? After all, it's going to be televised. DONOVAN: No, I’m not nervous. I’m excited. I hope nobody expects that I know how to golf. I just want to enjoy it. I mean, obviously it’s for a great, great cause, but more so, personally on the day, it’ll just be fun to get one, to get to play with Tony, and then just to see these guys up close and see how they hit the ball. I went to the Masters a few years ago. … Just to see the way they strike the ball and then listen to the sound is really remarkable. And you don’t realize that watching them on TV, obviously. So, when he gets to do it up close and then I just want to hear, I mean, probably the last thing Tony wants to do is talk about golf, but I just want to speak a little bit about like his process as he goes through lining up a shot and deciding how he’s going to play a certain hole and those kinds of things. I love learning, and that would be really fascinating to hear. PGATOUR.COM: You were such an awesome soccer player — the best of all time. Is it frustrating to play a sport that you haven’t mastered yet? DONOVAN: Yeah. I mean, that’s the beauty of all sports other than the one you played — and golf in particular. I play a lot of tennis, as well. And tennis is a sport where you can play a bad point and still win the point. You can actually play a relatively bad set or match and still win a match just based on how it’s going. In golf there’s nowhere to turn. There are no other variables. It’s just you on the ball. And that’s the daunting part because I’m so used to a sport where there are so many variables involved and so many players and referees and fans, the climate. What the beauty of golf is, you don’t have any excuses. It’s just you either did it or you didn’t. And so that’s what I love about it — but that’s also what’s very frustrating. I’m sure like everyone experiences the ability to hit a shot almost like a professional would hit, even though it’s once in a blue moon, it makes you feel like it’s a sport you can conquer. But then the reason why they are where they are is because they can do it every time or almost every time. Once in a blue moon, you can strike a ball like a professional, but you could never, ever, ever compete with them because you can’t do it twice in a row and they do it 200 times in a row over the course of a weekend. PGATOUR.COM: What frustrates you most about the game? DONOVAN: Honestly the level of respect I have for what they’re able to do is so high because in my opinion, tennis and golf are the two most mentally challenging sports. And I think golf is a little more than tennis because of what I just said. It’s a game and a sport that is far ahead of other sports in the way players mentally prepare. And if we could take that level of mental work and preparation and put it into other sports, athletes would be a lot better. And it’s still sort of the last plateau or I guess the last the last area to conquer in team sports because it’s seen as not macho or just toughing through it or get on with it, whereas in golf it’s like the mental side is you could say more important than the physical side. So, we can learn so much from that sport because they have no choice, but to get on with the next shot, regardless of what happened before and in soccer you’ll see guys who make a bad play or miss a shot and it affects them for the rest of the game and they can’t recover. And in golf you just have to learn no matter what happened — good, bad, ugly, indifferent — you have to get on with the next shot. That’s the only one that matters. And I think that’s a great metaphor for life and for other sports as well could be really helpful. PGATOUR.COM: And I also think the fact that a golf tournament is held over four days - not just a single game — makes it even more challenging mentally DONOVAN: That’s well said. And also, what people don’t realize is when amateur golfers golf, we all golf with the cart, right? At least a push-cart or most of us have like a motorized cart. If I walk seven or eight holes, I am exhausted. I mean, exhausted. And in the sun, right? So, you don’t realize how fit they are because that’s not easy. Yes. I know someone’s carrying their bag, but you just try walking 18 holes without hitting golf shots and without the mental strength. It’s really hard. It’s exhausting. So, it makes you realize what great shape they’re at. And then by Sunday afternoon, they still have the energy - it's really impressive. PGATOUR.COM: This may be a weird question because soccer is so fast paced but is there anything about soccer that helps you as a golfer? DONOVAN: It's actually a great question. Only since I stopped playing soccer did I realize in tennis and in golf, both, the value of just watching the ball when you strike it. And I never thought about it in soccer because I was so programmed to do it without thinking and it was just second nature for me. But in both tennis and golf, when I actually just watched the ball all the way to the racket or watch the club all the way until it hits through the ball, there’s a different outcome. And it’s so difficult because human nature is always to want to see where the ball is going. You always want to know where the ball is going. And so, in soccer, when there were times where I wasn’t scoring goals or something felt off with my shooting, I would always go back to, OK, just keep your head down and watch yourself, kick the ball all the way through the ball. And that’s exactly the same thing that happens in golf. Exactly. For me, it’s almost every time I watched myself swing all the way through the ball that I hit at least a decent shot. And when I don’t, I don’t. PGATOUR.COM: What's the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you on the golf course? DONOVAN: So, when I was with the under-17 national team, my coach at that time — and this was 20-plus years ago — he likes to tell this story. We were in, I think it was in Florida, and we were on a golf course and I hit a ball somewhere near the water and walked over and started lining up my shot. And without me realizing it, a gator or a crocodile had trickled his or her way up, like, really close to me. And then, my coach said, ‘Hey, Landon, you may want to check out what your surroundings are right now.’ And I looked out and needless said to say, I just left the ball. I was happy to lose a couple of dollars and get the hell out of there.

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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Ian Poulter’s father, Terry, is in from the U.K. to watch his son play the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town. So far, he’s gotten quite a show. Poulter extended his bogey-free streak to 45 straight holes and is in position to win for the second time in three weeks after a third-round 67 on Saturday. This, despite the fact that he’s playing for the sixth week in a row and normally spends no more than three straight weeks on the road. “I’m surprised I’m still awake, to be honest,â€� Poulter said. “Six weeks in a row. Normally after three I’m begging for a week off. … My dad said I’ve never had so much sleep before.â€� Luke List (67) and Si Woo Kim (68) will join Poulter in the final threesome Sunday at 9 a.m. Tee times have been moved up, and players will go off of split tees in order to get done around 2 p.m. ET and potentially ahead of the anticipated thunderstorms. Poulter has not made a bogey since the 10th hole of the first round, and he is only two weeks removed from his resounding victory at the Houston Open, where at one point he played 49 holes without a bogey on the way to his third PGA TOUR win. His recent consistency notwithstanding, few careers have seen more ups and downs than Poulter’s over the last year and a half. “There’s been quite a lot of lows in the last 18 months,â€� he said. Lows, as in his lowest ranking: 207th after The Honda Classic last season. (He’s back up to 31st.) Lows, as in thinking he’d lost his TOUR card after missing the cut at the Valero Texas Open last season, when it appeared that he had not fulfilled the terms of his Major Medical Extension from a 2016 foot injury. (As it turned out, the math was wrong. He had done enough, after all.) A T2 finish at THE PLAYERS Championship secured Poulter’s TOUR status for 2018, and he has kicked his game into another gear this season. After going back to the putter he used to spark Europe’s comeback at the 2012 Ryder Cup, Poulter finished T5 at the World Golf Championship-Dell Technology Match Play. He won the Houston Open a week later, earning him an eleventh-hour invitation to the Masters. Now he’s fighting through fatigue and conjuring up some of his best golf. “I needed something to change on the greens,â€� he said of the Medinah putter, with which he has ranked seventh in strokes gained: putting this week. “Going back to something that I couldn’t blame, with a putter that you know has done some great things in the past, there’s no excuses.â€� OBSERVATIONS HORSCHEL TURNS CORNER. Billy Horschel had missed five of his last six cuts and came into this week ranked 160th in the FedExCup. He will play in the second to last group on Sunday after shooting a third-round 67 to get to within two of the lead. The big difference: While he came into the week ranked 119th in strokes gained: putting, Horschel is second in that stat this week. “This course suits me well,â€� said Horschel, who tied for ninth here in his first RBC, in 2013. “I’m striking it well, putting well and thinking well.â€� That last part, the mental side, has perhaps been holding him back, he said. “It’s a little bit more of a mental thing with me right now,â€� said the four-time TOUR winner and 2014 FedExCup champion. “So I need to get back to the way I was thinking my entire career, especially ’13 and ’14.â€� KISNER TRIES TO FORGET 2017. Kevin Kisner was in position to close out a victory at the RBC Heritage a year ago, but he bogeyed four of his last eight holes for a 74 and a T11 finish. Now he’s back to try again. He shot a third-round 66, tied for the best of the day, to get to 10-under and within three shots of the lead. “Last year was pretty pitiful on the back nine Sunday,â€� said Kisner, a two-time TOUR winner who finished second at the recent World Golf Championship-Dell Technologies Match Play, and who came into this week 30th in the FedExCup. “So I’m going to try to make amends with it and do a little better on the back nine. I feel comfortable. I’m swinging great and I’ve got a lot of confidence, so I’m looking forward to it.â€� S.W. KIM OVERCOMES NERVES. It was a long wait before Si Woo Kim started his round in the last twosome with then-leader Bryson DeChambeau. So long, in fact, that Kim was surprised to realize he felt nervous. “I was a little disappointed because I was nervous on the first few holes,â€� said Kim (68, one back), who will defend his title at THE PLAYERS Championship next month. “…Having a really late tee time today, I felt that was a big waiting period for me. So my body needed to adjust to that.â€� A day after taking just 23 putts and shooting a 65 with a triple-bogey, Kim said he felt slightly less sharp on the greens (27 putts). Still, he is fourth in the field in strokes gained: putting (+5.762) for the week. NOTABLES BRYSON DECHAMBEAU – Second-round leader got off to a great start with a birdie on the first hole, but a triple-bogey at the second and doubles at 13 and 17 led to a 75. He’s seven back. DUSTIN JOHNSON – Making his first start here since he missed back-to-back cuts here in 2008-2009, world No. 1 and native South Carolinian shot 72 and was well back at 3-under. WESLEY BRYAN – Defending champ shot his second straight 71 to remain 2-under. Only three players have successfully defended at the RBC: Payne Stewart (1989-’90), Davis Love III (1991- ’92) and Boo Weekley (2007-’08). DAVIS LOVE III – After making the cut on the number, five-time winner fell back with a 74. JIM FURYK – The two-time RBC champion (2010, 2015) shot 73 to fall to 2-over. QUOTABLES I’m surprised I’m still awake.Last year was pretty pitiful on the back nine on Sunday.It’s such a great area. My wife’s family is here, and my family is here. We just tried to make a vacation out of it. SUPERLATIVES Low round: 66 by Byeong Hun An, Charley Hoffman, Kevin Kisner and Tyrone Van Aswegen. Longest drive: 356 yds (Dustin Johnson/No. 15) Longest putt: 34’ 11â€� (Charles Howell III/No. 18) Toughest hole: The par-4 3rd (4.169)

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