PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Not every golfer loves a home game. Often there are tickets to procure, houseguests to entertain, and many other distractions that can separate a player from his normal tournament routine. RELATED: Leaderboard You won’t hear Daniel Berger complain. Berger loves every second of playing close to home. On Thursday morning, he was breezing around his neighborhood on his bike before his afternoon tee time. His commute to the course takes 15 minutes by car. And, of course, there is the biggest bonus of all: home cooking that his mother provides. Daniel is no dummy. Asked to name the favorite dish that his mom makes, he shrugs and answers, “Everything.” Nadia Berger’s son, meanwhile, has been busy serving up birdies through two days of The Honda Classic at PGA National’s Champion Course. There have been 11 in all, six of those against one bogey early Friday as he stepped into the lead of his hometown PGA TOUR stop. Berger’s 65-65 on the par-70 Champion was a sight to behold. When fellow competitor Gary Woodland stood over a putt for birdie on their 17th hole of the morning, he was 2 under and tied for 11th place. And a full eight shots behind Berger, who played offense as many played defense against a penal Champion Course at PGA National. Comparing the two 65s as if they were paintings in a gallery, he said there might have been more quality in Friday’s version, when he teed off on the back nine, grabbed momentum early, and never really let it go. Whenever he seemed to be even slightly out of sorts – such as the par-4 12th, where he went from one bunker to another with his first two shots – there was recovery and hope. At the 12th, it arrived in the form of a 12-foot par save. Onward and upward from there. “Just one of those days when I kept the momentum going,” said Berger, 28, a four-time PGA TOUR winner who was a runner-up at Honda as a PGA TOUR rookie in 2015. He closed with 64, then lost a two-hole playoff to veteran Padraig Harrington. Berger tied for fourth two years ago, and last year missed the tournament due to a rib injury. It destroyed him not to be here, competing on a course he knows so well. Berger’s best attribute through 36 holes this week? Patience. “I hit a lot of quality shots, even though they don’t look like they’re 5 feet from the hole, or 10 feet from the hole,” he said. “I know that they’re so difficult, that to hit it to 20 feet is a good shot. “And that’s the challenge for this golf course is the pins are tucked, the greens are firm, wind’s up, so you have to be really on point with where you’re going to miss.” Berger hasn’t missed very often. He wondered aloud if 10 under might not be a winning score late on Sunday should the wind blow a little harder this weekend, if the greens get a little firmer, and if the Bear Trap rears its head. Berger says PGA National, the way it is set up, feels like a major sort of test. “You look at hole No. 5 (measuring 195 yards on Friday), the pin is four (paces) from the left, and the wind is off the left … I mean it’s almost impossible to hit it close. So sometimes a 30-footer right of the flag is a great shot. And so that’s what I’m looking forward to on the weekend, where that’s going to be a big part of the game plan.” That’s exactly how Berger approached the par-3 seventh, which was his 16th hole of the day. The flagstick was tucked right, behind a daunting bunker, and Berger, who likes to move the ball left to right, played smartly left, his ball trundling to the back of the green. He was 38 feet away from the hole, and was in full stride walking when it took one last wiggle to the right and tumbled in. Birdie. Brooks Koepka, a four-time major champion and more famous golfer from the area, has known Berger forever. They both came up through events in the area, and both played at Florida State, where Berger was a little behind the older Koepka. “He’s fiery. I like it,” is how Koepka described his former teammate at last autumn’s Ryder Cup. “I think he’s maybe not on the outside, doesn’t show it, but maybe more so behind closed doors and knowing him personally, he’s definitely very competitive. He’s funny. And I just like the fact that he’s always ready to go. Doesn’t matter, ping-pong, chess, I mean, it doesn’t matter. He’s ready to go, and he’s ready to kick your butt, which I think is awesome.” For two days at the Honda, nobody has played more soundly, has been more dominant, or has kicked more butts. The best part for Berger? There’s a terrific home-cooked meal awaiting only 15 minutes away. No reservation required.
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