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Steele takes lead at Honda Classic, Koepka & Fowler miss cut

Brendan Steele moved to the top of the Honda Classic leaderboard as star pair Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler missed the cut.

By Sacha Pisani
BrendanSteele-cropped

FLorida, Feb 29: Brendan Steele moved to the top of the Honda Classic leaderboard as star pair Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler missed the cut.

Steele carded a three-under-par 67 to earn a one-stroke lead after the second round of the PGA Tour tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on Friday.

A three-time Tour champion but seeking his first title since 2017, Steele holed five birdies and two bogeys to move to five under through 36 holes at PGA National Golf Club.

J.T. Poston (69) and English pair Luke Donald (66) and Lee Westwood (69) are a stroke off the pace at the halfway stage of the event, while Gary Woodland (67), Nick Watney (66), Sepp Straka (67) and Cameron Davis (67) complete the top five.

Harris English and Tom Lewis were co-leaders following the opening round, but both players struggled on day two.

A second-round 74 saw English drop down into a share of 24th, while Lewis's five-over-par 75 saw him slip to one over for the tournament.

It was a forgettable round for former world number one Koepka and Fowler, who failed to make it to the weekend.

The cut line was three over and four-time major champion Koepka finished eight over following back-to-back 74s – Friday's round featuring two double-bogeys and a bogey.

"I struck it really well," said Koepka, who missed December's Presidents Cup due to a knee injury. "Really pleased with how I'm hitting it… Everything is good. No complaints. It has nothing to do with my knee.

"Just need to pick it up a little bit, pick up the pace, give it maybe a little bit more touch around the greens, a little bit more feel. But the way I'm striking it, I'm very pleased. I feel very happy with it."

Fellow American Fowler posted a 68 but he still missed the cut at four over, while Justin Rose (74) and defending champion Keith Mitchell (72) also failed to qualify for Saturday and Sunday.

Story first published: Saturday, February 29, 2020, 8:56 [IST]
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