Honda Classic 2012: Davis Love III's Luck Will Eventually Run out

Davis Love III is leading the 2012 Honda Classic with a ridiculous six-under(-par) 64 during the first round on the PGA National course. It also gave a tie for the course record.

Love took advantage of extremely favorable and calm weather during his early morning tee time at Palm Beach Gardens, while competitors with later starts faced a brutal and steady wind. 

The 47-year-old former PGA Championship winner had some extremely lucky breaks along the way, as well.

He scored an ace on the fifth hole, which is a 196-yard par 3. That gave him the confidence to birdie three straight going into the back nine.

Love’s back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 gave him a two-shot lead over the closest competitors from the rest of the field.

However, he might not get so lucky today, and his slim lead might dissipate quickly.

Love tees off at 1:00 p.m. EST, and will not have a major advantage over any of the other contenders in that department.

He’s also got Rory McIlroy, perhaps the greatest upcoming golfer, right on his tail. Rory shot a 66, good for four-under(-par) on the afternoon.

The worst news for Love is that his closest competition isn’t even stressing about it and seems almost sure he’s going to be fine.

"It was pretty stress-free out there," McIlroy said. "I hit quite a few fairways and a lot of greens and gave myself a lot of chances, and that's sort of what you need to do around this golf course."

Davis just seems happy to have shot so well for the first time in a while.

"If I had not birdied the last two holes, it still would have been a good start," Love said. "It's fun to tie the course record. And it's fun to shoot low scores."

It’s going to be a good tournament, but expect Rory to quickly overtake Love and win the 2012 Honda Classic.