Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia tied for lead in Florida

Tied for the 54-hole lead with eventual victor Michael Thompson, he shot a 73 to finish four back. McIlroy has had a love-hate relationship with PGA National.

“It should be won or lost right here, ” reads the inscription on the plaque. Although he three-putted the 13th from 30 feet for bogey, he took a one-shot lead over Scott after the Australian’s quad on 15.

Garcia birdied the par-5 18th to match Scott for the lead entering the final round. – As good as these guys are at a game so irrational and irritating, they don’t often overcome quadruple bogeys. Scott did prove that one hole can change an entire round, so anything is possible. After checking to see if he could play out of the water – he couldn’t – he went back to the drop zone for a third try and hit it 10 feet from the hole.

“That’s what this course is about, isn’t it?”

“Just one of those ones where it’s the wrong time to make an error, especially with the first shot”, Scott said of his 7. Hopefully, that is out of the way and I can do a little better [Sunday].

“With the way I’ve been playing and how I feel on this golf course, being comfortable here with some good rounds in the past, I’m looking forward to this weekend”.

“I felt like I didn’t hit it as good as yesterday but I hit some really good drives through the middle, through the end of the round, and made a few more putts which was nice”.

Scott, who carded a five-under-par 65, enjoyed a bogey-free round as he made three birdies and converted a 10-foot eagle putt at the par-five third.

Rickie Fowler watches his shot from the eighth fairway during the second round of the Honda Classic golf tournament, Friday, Feb. 26, 2016, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Singh, who turned 53 on Monday, was 6-under par through 14 holes and was in contention for the title. The 36-hole lead will do just fine.

After birdieing holes 12 and 13, Scott plunked two balls in the water on 15. He stumbled early, shooting a 3-over 38 on the front nine and never recovered. Sergio Garcia, playing with Fowler, stayed with him until the final four holes.

And it was hard not to think that Scott had let a lot of people back into the tournament, or at the very least made the task of winning for the first time since May of 2014 all the more challenging. And then on Saturday, he couldn’t make a birdie.

Fowler carded four birdies and no bogeys for the second day in succession to reach the half-way mark at eight under, one shot ahead of fellow American Jimmy Walker. Fowler opened in twin 66s to lead by one over playing partner Jimmy Walker. “Fowler’s closest scoring chance was 15’0” at the 10th.