Padraig Harrington of Ireland finished a 4-under-par 66 Saturday morning and took a one-shot lead over Patrick Reed after two rounds of the rain-delayed Honda Classic on the Champion Course at PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
The third round was delayed by lightning in the area soon after it started, and later in the afternoon PGA Tour officials announced that there would be no more golf on Saturday with 20 players still waiting to tee off. Play will continue at 7 a.m. EST on Sunday, making a Monday finish a real possibility.
Harrington, who has not won on the PGA Tour since capturing the Open Championship and the PGA Championship in consecutive months in 2008, carded seven birdies in round two and held a three-stroke lead until making bogeys on his last two holes while finishing on the front nine.
“I really played great (on Friday) and it continued this morning until I had some trouble down the stretch,” said Harrington, a three-time major champion. “I know there’s a long way to go and it’s going to be a tough weekend, but I’ll just have to dig deep and hang in there.”
Reed, who has won four times on the PGA Tour in the last 18 months, had only one stumble in his second straight 67, making a double-bogey 6 on the 11th hole.
Ian Poulter of England posted a 64 in the second round that included an eagle on the fourth hole, where he holed out with a wedge from 116 yards, and was two shots back in a tie for third with Brendan Steele of Idyllwild and UC Riverside, who had a 69.
Luke Donald of England birdied three of the last eight holes to card a 67 and was another stroke back in fifth, while surprise first-round leader Jim Herman shot a 72 and was one more stroke behind in a tie for sixth with Russell Knox of Scotland, who had a 68.
Phil Mickelson, coming off a two-week break, shot 67 and was tied for eighth.
Top-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, playing on the PGA Tour for the first time in 2015, shot 73-74 — 147 and missed the cut by three strokes, the first time he has missed the last two rounds since the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield.
