English, Lewis weather tough conditions to lead the Honda Classic by one shot
Harris English and Tom Lewis entered Thursday’s first round of the Honda Classic just being thankful they were getting to tee off in the chill of an unusually cold Florida day.
After all, the only reason English and Lewis were on the course was that they were the recipients of a sponsor’s exemption.
Just being allowed to play in the Honda brought a smile to their faces. And you should have seen those smiles at the end of the day.
English and Harris, quite surprisingly to say the least, were tied for the first-day Honda lead, both shooting 4-under-par 66 on the Champion Course at PGA National Resort & Spa.
“I’m very appreciative of the exemption,” English understated.
“Obviously, it was great to have the opportunity to be out here,” Lewis wholeheartedly agreed.
A sponsor’s exemption is given to a limited number of players — eight for this Honda event — at the discretion of tournament officials.
English, 30, and Lewis, 29, made the most of their opportunities despite swirling winds and lower-than-normal temperatures producing tough playing conditions.
“I knew coming into today that you’ve got to have your mouthpiece in out there,” English said. “I knew starting the day it was going to be tough. You have so many cross-winds out here, and it is tough trying to figure out the right shot to hit. You’ve got to execute in conditions like this.
“You’ve got to get through and show some fortitude.”
Lewis, who went bogey-free on Thursday, concurred.
“It was difficult,” he said. “but when things are challenging, it’s like are you going to succeed or are you going to fail, and I think you have to get up there and just make good swings, and if it’s your week, it’s your week.
“It can happen. Just one shot, one putt at the right time or a good break, then all of a sudden it can snowball. I need to take a lot of belief from this round and, hopefully, great things will happen all week this week.”
How tough was the day?
Ask some of golf’s big names who were looking far up the leaderboard at English and Lewis.
Zach Johnson, once ranked sixth in the world, was in strong position to challenge the two leaders as he was part of a five-way tie for third at 3-under with Cameron Tringale, J.T. Poston, Lee Westwood and Brian Stuard.
The bad news for the rest of golf’s elite is they have plenty of ground to make up. The good news for them is that there are still three rounds left.
Gary Woodland is four strokes back with a 70; Justin Rose six back at 72; Brooks Koepka, a local favorite who ranked third in the world, is eight back at 74; and Rickie Fowler sits 10 back at 76.
Fans should not expect the scores on Friday to go plummeting — just the temperatures. Players with early tee times will be hitting the ball with temperatures in the low 40s. In addition, the winds are expected to once again work against the golfers.
That said, one person particularly not fazed by the conditions or his leading position is English, who veered into a different sport to say how he feels.
“I like having the ball in my hands with 15 seconds to go,” he said. “I want the last shot.”
