Sleeper Picks: The Honda Classic

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — PGA TOUR rookie Viktor Hovland shot an 8-under 64 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the windy Puerto Rico Open. Related: Leaderboard | Brotherhood of the slump: How TOUR pros found their way back “Hopefully, I just continue doing what I have been doing the first three days,” Hovland said. “It would be unbelievable to have won on the tour already, but I’m just worried about tomorrow. Hopefully, I can hit some good shots and make some putts.'” The 22-year-old Norwegian starred at Oklahoma State, winning the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, then sweeping low amateur honors at the Masters and U.S. Open. He birdied all four par-5 holes at Coco Beach, the last on the 18th for a back-nine 31 and 18-under 198 total. “I played really well today, kind of the same round as the last two, just been playing really solid off the tee and been hitting a lot of really good iron shots into the greens,” Hovland said. “Early on in the round I didn’t really make that many putts, but I did a really good job of just staying calm. Thankfully, on the back nine I started making a couple putts and got me going.” Martin Laird was second after a 63. He eagled the par-5 second and par-4 10th, holing out with a wedge on 10. “Today was a great day, putts were going in,” Laird said. “I’ve been hitting it great all week. Yesterday, I hit it just as good and just putts were all over the hole and didn’t go in and then today, they did. Nice bonus on 10. Holing a wedge is always a little boost.” Josh Teater was two strokes back at 16 under after a 66. Emiliano Grillo had a 69 to get to 13 under. Patrick Rodgers (66) and Sam Ryder (69) were 12 under.

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Paul Azinger will become NBC Sports’ lead golf analyst in 2019, following Johnny Miller’s retirement at the Waste Management Phoenix Open (Jan. 31-Feb. 3). Azinger won 12 times on the PGA TOUR, including the 1992 TOUR Championship and 1993 PGA Championship. He also was captain of the 2008 Ryder Cup team. He has enjoyed a lengthy broadcasting career since retiring as a player, serving as the lead golf analyst for ABC and ESPN from 2006-2015. He joined Fox Sports’ broadcast of USGA championships in 2016 and will continue to serve in that role. “I have great admiration for both the quality of NBC Sports’ coverage and commitment to great storytelling, as well as the network’s deep commitment to the game I love,� Azinger said. “It is a great honor to cover a tremendous slate of PGA TOUR and marquee events, including THE PLAYERS, The Open, Ryder Cup and Tokyo Olympics. Additional opportunities to contribute to instructional and historical projects, as well as Golf Channel’s top-notch news platforms, makes this the role of a lifetime.� Following his breakthrough major championship victory at the PGA Championship at Inverness, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. After battling the disease for months with intensive chemotherapy and radiation, he was able to return to golf and received the Golf Writers Association of America Ben Hogan Award in 1995, which recognizes a professional golfer who remains active in the sport despite serious illness or physical handicap. Azinger’s comeback was fully realized in 2000, when at the age of forty, he won the Sony Open in Hawaii. Additionally, Azinger will contribute to Golf Channel’s portfolio of platforms, ranging from Golf Central’s Live From the Masters alongside former colleague Mike Tirico; develop instructional content for both on-air and via Revolution Golf; and develop documentary projects for Golf Channel’s Emmy-nominated and critically-acclaimed Golf Films. Azinger’s NBC Sports schedule in 2019, which will regularly include all four days of tournament coverage on Golf Channel and NBC, will kick off at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship (Feb. 21-24). NBC Sports will allow Azinger to continue to call The Masters for the BBC, as well as the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open on FOX. “Paul is one of the most perceptive minds in golf,� said Tommy Roy, lead golf producer, NBC Sports. “His innate ability to dissect the action in front of him and convey it to the viewer in such a concise, assured manner is what we value most across our tournament broadcast team.�

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Ten months after their thrilling playoff duel for the 2017 U.S. Amateur championship, Doc Redman and Doug Ghim have accepted invitations to compete in the 2018 Quicken Loans National alongside tournament exemptions Joaquin Niemann, Kristoffer Ventura and Dylan Meyer. The group of rising stars, along with exemption recipients Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Jason Gore, will join tournament host Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama in the 120-player invitational field at TPC Potomac June 25 – July 1. “We are excited to invite this distinguished group of young golfers to the 2018 Quicken Loans National,� tournament director Mike Antolini said. “The tournament has a longstanding tradition of showcasing golf’s up and coming stars, and this year’s group is among the best we’ll feature in a single year. We look forward to seeing these young men compete at TPC Potomac.� Last August, Redman executed an improbable comeback to defeat Ghim over 37 holes in the U.S. Amateur championship match at the iconic Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. Down two to Ghim with two holes to play in their 36-hole regulation match-play final, Redman drained a 60-foot eagle putt on Riviera’s 17th hole and birdied Riviera’s closing par-4 18th hole to square the match and force a sudden-death playoff, which Redman won on the first extra hole. With the victory, Redman earned an invitation into the 2018 Quicken Loans National. Redman, 20, tied for 15th in this May’s NCAA Individual Championships in finishing his sophomore season at Clemson University, then turned pro on May 29. The Raleigh, N.C., native earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in his two seasons at Clemson – his 70.70 two-year scoring average is a record among any golfer’s career at the school – and has competed in four events on the PGA TOUR’s 2017-18 schedule as a sponsor exemption. In consecutive weeks in April, he played in the Masters and then placed T50 at the RBC Heritage. University of Texas senior Ghim, 22, won the Ben Hogan Award – recognizing the top men’s college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions over the past 12 months – and is currently ranked No. 1 in the men’s World Amateur Golf Ranking. He placed third in the 2018 NCAA Individual Championships at the end of May. Last year, he combined to post an 8-0-0 record for Team USA at the Walker Cup and Arnold Palmer Cup competitions. Niemann, a 19-year-old phenom from Chile, has burst onto the PGA TOUR scene with three top-eight finishes in five starts since turning professional after playing in April’s Masters as an amateur. Finishing T6 at the Memorial Tournament, Niemann amassed enough FedExCup points to earn special temporary membership on the PGA TOUR for the remainder of the 2017-18 season. He ascended to become the world’s top-ranked amateur last year and qualified for the Masters by winning the Latin America Amateur Championship by five strokes in January. Meyer, 22, tied for fourth at May’s 2018 NCAA Individual Championships representing the University of Illinois and recently qualified to compete in the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. Meyer was named Big Ten Player of the Year and a Ben Hogan Award finalist in 2017 before playing in his first PGA TOUR tournament last July. Prior to turning professional, Meyer made his second career PGA TOUR start in March, making the cut at the Valspar Championship. Ventura, who recently finished his senior season at Oklahoma State University, helped the No. 1 ranked Cowboys to the NCAA Championship this past May. Posting a 3-and-2 win over Alabama’s Wilson Furr, Ventura and his teammates beat Alabama to earn the program’s 11th all-time national championship. During his collegiate career, Ventura racked up three tournament wins, eight top 5s and 12 top 10 finishes. He was selected all four years as a First Team All-Big 12 and earned medalist honors at the 2018 Big 12 Championships. The Quicken Loans National features 120 PGA TOUR golfers and a $7.1 million purse. Past champions of the tournament include tournament host Tiger Woods, K.J. Choi, Bill Haas, Billy Hurley III, Anthony Kim, Troy Merritt, Justin Rose and Nick Watney.  

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