Leaderboard: The Honda Classic

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Rickie Fowler watched “Baywatch,â€� starring Dwayne Johnson, while Patrick Rodgers chose a documentary on British heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Aaron Baddeley killed time with a YouTube program called Really Bad Dad Jokes, in which the first contestant to laugh loses. (Sample joke: What did the ocean say to the shore? Nothing. It just waved.) The OHL Classic at Mayakoba became an odd waiting game thanks to thunderstorms that began Friday afternoon, intensified overnight, and continued Saturday morning, pushing the resumption of play back from 7:30 a.m. all the way to 1:40 p.m. Fowler (67) and Rodgers (65), two of 57 players forced to finish their second rounds Saturday, played three holes apiece and finish tied for the top at 10-under, along with Patton Kizzire (70). Players who made the cut on the number, 1-under, were immediately sent back out at 4:15 p.m. The leaders were unable to start the third round before darkness fell and are looking at a potential 36-hole final day, weather permitting. Play is scheduled to resume at 7:15 a.m. Sunday. “We got woken up by the storms last night a few times,â€� said Fowler, who led the TOUR in sand saves last season (68.66%) and is three-for-three from the sand so far this week. “We tried to get as much sleep as we could, and the first alarm was going off at 5:00. I’m sure most of the guys were getting up around then. I kind of waited as long as I could to get over here.â€� A wild storm system hovered over Mayakoba overnight, with booming thunder and lightning and four inches of rain falling in four hours. “I think it rained a ton and very impressed with how they hold water out here,â€� Rodgers said. “It wasn’t too bad. I thought they would have problems with us playing the ball up after all that rain, but we were good. Nice to be back out.â€� OBSERVATIONS ODA LOVING LIFE AS A PRO. John Oda, the UNLV product who is making his pro debut this week, tied for second in the recent second stage of the Web.com Tour Q school in Murrieta, California, then went home to Las Vegas last Saturday. He was watching a friend play in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open late Sunday when he got a call from his manager, Walker Huddy. “He told me to get ready to travel,â€� Oda said, “and I was like, ‘Where?’â€� Oda booked a flight and packed his bags. With Huddy on his lightweight carry bag, he played 10 holes to complete his second round Saturday, most of anyone in the field since he was in the last group. Oda made four straight birdies from holes 3-6, then hung on with par saves to shoot 65 and get to 9-under at the halfway point. “I didn’t even unpack from second stage,â€� Oda said. “I really am just trying to play some golf, have some fun, not put too many expectations on myself.â€�       RODGERS OPENS UP. Patrick Rodgers was not thrilled after playing the last three holes of his second round, three of the easiest holes on the course (7-9), in 1-over on Saturday. But after signing for a 65, he was still tied for the lead. The Stanford product is still seeking his first TOUR win at 25, which probably wouldn’t try his patience so much if not for some extenuating circumstances. Rodgers is used to winning, having racked up 11 victories at Stanford in three years, tying Tiger Woods (who did it in two) for the all-time school record. But it’s more that Rodgers is part of the vaunted high school Class of 2011, led by super-achievers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. “To be honest, at times it’s been really hard,â€� Rodgers said, “because I feel like I have the game that everyone else has, and I feel like I work as hard as everyone else does. But everyone has a different process, and I have to be patient with that.â€� NOTABLES CHARLES HOWELL III – He birdied three of his first five holes in his third round to get onto the first page of the leaderboard at 8-under and in position for a run at the title Sunday. PAT PEREZ – The defending champion made the cut on the number and was 1-under for his first three holes of Round 3 before darkness halted play. ROBERTO DIAZ – Last man to get his TOUR card off the Web.com Tour and the 555th ranked player in the world, Diaz shot 65 to get to 6-under. He is even through two holes of Round 3. BEAU HOSSLER – Second-round 66 has him in a tie for 10th place after recent T7 at Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and T10 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. KEITH MITCHELL – He started the tournament with a hole-in-one Thursday and shot 66 but barely made the cut on the number after soaring to a second-round 75.  QUOTABLES “With a 5 o’clock wake-up call, you’d like to start a little earlier than 1:40.â€� – Rickie Fowler on the long rain delay caused by overnight thunderstorms and rain Saturday morning. SUPERLATIVES Low second round: 65, by sponsor’s invite John Oda, making his pro debut; Roberto Diaz of Veracruz, Mexico; Denny McCarthy; Patrick Rodgers; and Brian Gay. Longest drives: With rain pounding the ground soggy for much of the second round, Brandon Hagy averaged 314.5 yards in two measured drives. Fewest putts: Martin Piller took just 23 putts in the second round and was one of four players to take only 24 (along with Alex Cejka, Matt Every and Russell Knox) in the first. Easiest hole: The 532-yard, par-5 13th played to a 4.543 stroke average, which yielded 70 birdies and five eagles. The top nine players on the leaderboard were a combined 11-under on the hole. Hardest hole: The 452-yard, par-4 14th played to a 4.394 stroke average and gave up just four birdies. The 485-yard, par-4 16th hole, hardest in Round 1, was second hardest at 4.339.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It will be cooler. It may not necessarily be wetter. It should be windier. And it will remain firm and fast. Such is the likely weather impact on THE PLAYERS Championship moving from its current month of May to March starting in 2019. The news became official on Tuesday with the co-announcement by the PGA TOUR and PGA of America that the PGA Championship also will move from August to May. That means the PGA will become the second major of the season while THE PLAYERS will kick off the string of big events that define the bulk of the TOUR season. It also moves THE PLAYERS back to its previous position on the calendar as part of the Florida Swing. The TOUR’s signature event at TPC Sawgrass had been held in March until 2007 when it moved to May. “For us to have THE PLAYERS in March, trying really to create a large platform for our FedExCup and our overall season, it just creates an energy at an important time of the year,â€� PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan said after Tuesday’s announcement with PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua. Added Jared Rice, tournament director for THE PLAYERS Championship: “The March date puts us in the best possible position to deliver the tournament at a high level for our players, our partners and our fans. Being in that March timeframe, we get the benefit of a great lead-in from the beginning of the year through March. We couldn’t be happier.â€� Besides the schedule change, will the players feel a difference? Those who played TPC Sawgrass in March know what to expect: More wind. It should make an already challenging course even tougher. “The course, although not quite as firm, plays more difficult in my opinion with more wind and faster bent greens,â€� said Luke Donald, who has made 15 starts at THE PLAYERS, the first four of those in March. “TPC Sawgrass has always been a great test, but the move back to March is only going to test one of the best fields in golf even more and showcase what a great event it is.â€� Davis Love III is one of four players with multiple PLAYERS Championship wins at TPC Sawgrass during the month of March (Fred Couples, Steve Elkington and Hal Sutton are the others). “I prefer THE PLAYERS Championship in March,â€� Love said. “I like the golf course better then, even though it tends to be a bit windier. “The great thing about it is that we kind of lead off the season for the majors and other big tournaments. We, the players, feel very strongly about our signature event and we feel it should stand on its own. It fulfills that purpose much better in March than in the middle of the majors season.â€� NBC Sports has broadcast THE PLAYERS Championship for the past 30 years. Longtime producer Tommy Roy said he welcomes the return of the event to March. “From a broadcast standpoint, THE PLAYERS being contested in March provides some intriguing aspects, including that when the Stadium Course is over-seeded with emerald green Winter Rye, the imagery of this iconic venue will be beyond spectacular,â€� Roy said. “The course was designed to be the sternest and most compelling test in golf — and that will only be amplified now by the stronger March winds of North Florida.” In the last five years of THE PLAYERS during its March date, temperatures were generally in the 60s-70s, with wind gusts usually exceeding 25 mph. In the ensuing five years after the switch to May, record-high temperatures of 92 degrees were recorded on multiple occasions. Strong winds existed for the first two years after the switch but have been relatively benign for most competition days. Relief from the hotter weather will be welcomed by both players and fans. But will they also be more susceptible to rain? The perception is that the previous March date left THE PLAYERS vulnerable to increased precipitation. Monahan, though, noted there was less an inch of rain in the Ponte Vedra Beach area for the entire month of March this year. Besides, he said, the problem of the past wasn’t the amount of rain but the ability of TPC Sawgrass to handle it. Thanks to improvements with the fairways and greens, as well as the installation of a SubAir system and updates to the drainage system, the course is better equipped to handle a heavy amount of rain. “We are in a position to deliver the same firm and fast conditions in March that we have been delivering in May,â€� Monahan said, “and that’s something we are going to hold ourselves accountable to because we want the standard of play to be at the same high level it is right now.â€� Added Rice: “Looking back 11 years, the biggest difference between then and now is the investment the TOUR has put into the infrastructure of the golf course. Weather certainly was a factor previously (but) it was less about weather than how the golf course was really able to drain because of the weather. With all the new infrastructure we’ve put into the golf course, we’re in much better position to get it running firm and fast as quickly as possible.â€� The schedule itself may feel firm and fast, too, since the last half of the season will offer a monthly showcase event – THE PLAYERS in March, the Masters in April, the PGA Championship in May, the U.S. Open in June, the Open Championship in July, ending with the FedExCup Playoffs (and, of course, The Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup on alternating years). Early opinions indicate approval from the players. “It’s great for the golf schedule,â€� Rory McIlroy said Tuesday. “… It just has a better flow to it.â€� Dustin Johnson said the new schedule will “kind of space everything out a little bit more instead of it all being kind of crammed together. So it gives you a little bit more time to prepare.â€� Bethpage Black will host the 2019 PGA Championship, and the host PGA courses are set through 2023. Beyond that, the switch to May could allow some venues that weren’t capable of hosting the tournament in August to now be in the mix – particularly in states such as Texas, which hasn’t hosted a major since 1969, or Florida, whose last major was the PGA Championship in 1987. “It opens up other parts of the country,â€� Bevacqua said. “It’s more comfortable in the southeast. It’s more comfortable in Florida. It’s more comfortable in Texas.â€� The PGA Championship has been played in nine different months in its first 99 years, including four times in May. The last time came in 1949 when Sam Snead won. Since 1959 – except for one year – it has been the final major of the season. Starting in 2019, the final major will be The Open Championship. “I think from our perspective I don’t really mind whether we’re the third major or the fourth major,â€� said Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A, when asked about the possibility a few weeks ago. “We try to do our very best with The Open Championship to make it as good as we possibly can do. “I can absolutely understand some of the logic, and if it ends up as resulting in more people watching our game, then that’s a great outcome.â€� CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus — whose network televises 20 PGA TOUR events, including the PGA Championship and the first two FedExCup Playoffs events — is a big proponent of the moves. He said golf in the second quarter of the year is more lucrative on TV than in the third quarter when the sports calendar is often dominated by the start of the NFL season. “We love having the PGA Championship in August,â€� McManus said. “We’d love it even more having it in May, quite frankly.” Said Bevacqua: “We certainly think it’s good for the PGA of America and the PGA Championship, but we are 100 percent comfortable it’s good for the game, as well.â€�

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Reigning FedExCup champion Justin Rose returns from his holiday break to the California desert, as does Phil Mickelson to challenge Jon Rahm’s title defense as the TOUR makes its traditional first stop on the U.S. mainland in the new calendar year. Related: Field | Past results | Course overview It’s the 60th edition of what was once Bob Hope’s grassed stage. Celebrities who have passed through the Classic’s pro-am have ranged from Frank Sinatra, Jackie Gleason and Phil Harris to George Lopez, Alice Cooper and Samuel L. Jackson to U.S. presidents Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. FIELD NOTES: Danny Willett tees it up for the first time since ending his 2018 with a victory at the European Tour’s season finale. The English pro, forced to rebuild his swing after back woes, has revived his PGA TOUR membership after a year away. … PGA West is anticipating 12 of the current top 30 in the FedExCup standings. … Charlie Reiter, who opened 68-70 in last year’s event as a high schooler, is back on another sponsor exemption. The two-time Southern California prep champion now is a freshman at USC. … John Catlin, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour last year, also got an exemption. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: Rose tees it up on U.S. soil for the first time since he took home the FedExCup trophy at East Lake, making his first Desert Classic visit since 2010. After three top-4 finishes in the FedExCup Playoffs, he took third at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in October and won the European Tour’s Turkish Airlines Open the following week. … Mickelson, who also serves as a Classic ambassador, seeks a third crown for his portfolio to go with wins in 2002 and 2004. It’ll be his first competitive round since beating Tiger Woods in “The Match� over Thanksgiving weekend. … Rahm arrives off a share of eighth at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, his third straight top-10 finish worldwide. That includes a win at the 18-man Hero World Challenge. … Adam Hadwin, who shot 59 two years ago but was chased down by Hudson Swafford on the final day, takes another shot at desert glory. … Rahm’s victory made him just the second international winner in the past 15 Classics. Jhonattan Vegas (Venezuela) was the other, prevailing in 2011. … La Quinta Country Club is in the rotation for the 48th time, missing only eight Classics since its debut in 1964. That’s a longer run than all but four PGA TOUR venues. COURSE: TPC Stadium Course at PGA West, 7,113 yards, par 72. Now in its fourth year as host, Pete Dye’s 1986 design finally fits into the role for which it first was envisioned. Given the task of testing golfers to the utmost, Dye built a layout featuring deep bunkers, pushed-up greens and plenty of water. The course made its debut for the 1986 Skins Game and joined the Classic rota in 1987. The Skins Game stayed five more years, with six editions of the TOUR’s qualifying finals later held at the Stadium course. The event’s pro-am format also will utilize PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament course (7,159/72) and La Quinta CC (7,060/72) in the first three rounds. 72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Patrick Reed (2014). Note: Steve Stricker shot 255 through his first 72 holes in 2009, when the Hope was a five-round tournament. 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, David Duval (5th round, 1999 at PGA West/Palmer), Adam Hadwin (3rd round, 2017 at La Quinta CC). Stadium Course record: 63, Jonathan Fricke (2nd round, 2008 Qualifying Finals*), Whee Kim (2nd round, 2012 Qualifying Finals*). Nicklaus Tournament record: 59, Harrison Frazar (4th round, 2008 Qualifying Finals*). Note: Q-School does not count as an official PGA TOUR event. LAST YEAR: Rahm beat back Andrew Landry’s playoff challenge – not to mention impending darkness – with a birdie on the fourth extra hole, notching his second TOUR victory and fourth worldwide in a 51-week span. Rahm began his week with a 62 at La Quinta CC, but began the final day two shots off Austin Cook’s pace before posting a 5-under-par 67. Landry forced extra holes with a birdie on the final hole of regulation, and they matched pars on the first three holes before Rahm found the touch from 11 feet in fading light. It was Rahm’s second win in three starts bridging the holidays. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Sunday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: Live streaming of featured groups Thursday-Friday. RADIO: Thursday-Saturday, 1-7 p.m.; Sunday, 2-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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