Who is popular today?

No go for Pádraig Harrington, as the veteran Dubliner’s first appearance of the year on the PGA Tour came to a disappointing early end as he missed the cut at Honda Classic at PGA National in Palm Beach, Florida, where Daniel Berger – the man he beat in a playoff for the title in 2015 – assumed the clubhouse lead.
Harrington’s opening round 73 had put him on the back foot in his bid to survive the midway cut and a second round 70 for three-over-par 143 – a round which featured one birdie and one bogey – wasn’t enough to ensure his survival, as Berger’s second successive 65 for a 36-hole total of 130 saw the American take a grip on a title close to his heart.
“It’s nice to sit down in your own kitchen or your own bedroom and just feel like you’re at home and not be in a hotel. We spend a lot of weeks on the road, so it’s nice to be at home . . . I’m just happy to be out playing golf and enjoying it and playing a place that I love. I’ve said it a million times, sleeping in my own bed is an amazing feeling,” said Berger of enjoying home comforts in his hometown tournament.
Shane Lowry, making his first appearance of the year on the PGA Tour having started his schedule in the Middle East, was inside the top-15 through nine holes of his second round with birdies on the second and eighth holes seeing him turn in 33 to be two-under inside the top-15 at that point.
In the Jonsson Workwear Open in Durban, South Africa – a co-sanctioned event on the Challenge Tour and the Sunshine Tour – Northern Irish teenager Tom McKibbin finished with three straight birdies for a 68 for a midway total of 133 in tied-fifth place, nine strokes behind leader JC Ritchie who is chasing back-to-back wins after successfully defending the Cape Town Open last week.