PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Rickie Fowler’s swing is off-kilter, and so his title defense at The Honda Classic is over. One bad hole almost led Rory McIlroy to have a free weekend, as well. Fowler bogeyed six of his first nine holes Friday en route to a 76. He has two missed cuts and a lost 54-hole lead in three starts since his victory at the Hero World Challenge, where he shot a final-round 61. “I haven’t been swinging it great … the past month, month-and-a-half,” Fowler said after his round. “It’s close. A little bit off and the wind is going to make it look like you’re a terrible weekend golfer.” McIlroy made a triple-bogey on the par-3 17th, his eighth hole Friday, but a second consecutive 72 should allow him to squeeze inside the cut line. McIlroy won the 2012 Honda Classic and lost a playoff to Russell Henley in 2014, but he has struggled since. This was his seventh consecutive over-par round at PGA National. They weren’t the only ones to have a tough time. PGA National’s Champion Course is playing especially tough this year because of strong south Florida winds and some agronomical struggles on the greens that have led to slick putting surfaces. Thursday’s average score was more than 2.6 strokes over par and Friday wasn’t any easier. “It seemed like every hole that we had a right-to-left wind, the pin was on the right and vice versa, so it was hard to get it close,” McIlroy said. He was even par over his final 10 holes to give himself two more rounds at PGA National. When asked what he would play for over the weekend, he replied, “World-ranking points, FedExCup points and some cash, hopefully. That’s about it.” He’ll play the weekend in his adopted hometown for the first time since 2014, but another victory seems all but out of reach.
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