Honda Classic 2016: Friday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Rickie Fowler continued to ride the wave of momentum, firing a second consecutive 66 at the 2016 Honda Classic to take a one-shot lead after 36 holes.

Entering Friday in third place, Fowler played a bogey-free round en route to vaulting ahead of yesterday's leader, Sergio Garcia. It wasn't a bad day for Garcia, who shot a 69 to finish in third place with Jimmy Walker sandwiched between the two.

Here's the leaderboard heading into Saturday at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida:

Since missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open four weeks ago, Fowler has been on fire. He lost to Hideki Matsuyama in a playoff three weeks ago at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, breaking 70 three times in four rounds, and is on pace to earn his first PGA Tour victory of 2016. 

Fowler's final shot of the day, which took place on the ninth hole after he started on the back nine, was a good indicator that everything is working for him, via the PGA Tour:

All of Fowler's numbers looked fantastic Friday. His average drive was 307.5 yards with a 71.4 accuracy percentage, while he hit 75 percent of his greens in regulation and gained 1.004 strokes with his putter. 

For comparison, here's what the average player is doing in those four categories at the Honda Classic:

Average Drive (Yds)	Driving Accuracy	GIR%	Strokes Gained - Putting
289.3	58.71	59.58	-0.004

With numbers like those, he's going to be difficult to beat. But the good vibes don't stop there for the California native, as PGA Tour Media offered more stats to show how well he's playing:

The title of "Best Player on the PGA Tour" always seems to be fluctuating depending on what Fowler, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Jordan Spieth are doing. Right now, Fowler has a leg up on all three players early in 2016.

McIlroy, in particular, can use a hug, because he looks lost. The 26-year-old ended last week's Northern Trust Open with a 75, falling out of contention in the final round, and missed the cut this week after back-to-back two-over-par 72s.

If there is one area McIlroy needs to work on quickly, it's putting. He lost 1.156 strokes Friday, to the point where it was almost a relief when he pulled off shots like this one on No. 16, via the PGA Tour:

McIlroy had moments when it seemed as though things were turning around this week, but he followed them up with disastrous performances.

For instance, on Thursday, McIlroy had a run of three birdies in four holes. The problem was that the other hole was a double bogey on No. 14. He didn't have a run like that Friday, but a birdie on his 12th hole got his score back to even for the round.

After a par on his 13th hole, McIlroy shot a triple bogey on the next hole, prompting this response from ESPN.com's Jason Sobel:

Sometimes it's best to laugh through the pain, which Phil Mickelson will be able to do with McIlroy. Lefty fired a four-over 74 in the second round and ended his streak of consecutive rounds with at least one birdie, per Justin Ray of the Golf Channel:

Mickelson does have bragging rights over McIlroy for at least one week, because he opened with a 69, putting his 36-hole score at three over par and finishing right on the cut line to stick around for at least one more day. 

While that duo can lick its wounds, Walker and Garcia are putting the heat on Fowler heading into the weekend.

This wasn't Garcia's smoothest round, as a couple of bogeys on the front nine pushed his score into the high 60s, but he came close to having the shot of the day on No. 7, via the PGA Tour:

Garcia proved he feels comfortable on this course with his 65 on Thursday. His solid follow-up round didn't do anything to change the fact that he's dangerous heading into moving day.

Yet the player Fowler, Walker and Garcia need to be watching is Adam Scott. He was off the radar after an even-par 70 in the first round, but a 65 on Friday moved him into the mix with 36 holes remaining. 

According to Ray, Scott joined Fowler as the only players to shoot a bogey-free round this week. 

Like Fowler, Scott brought momentum from his last tournament with him. The 35-year-old finished second at the Northern Trust Open last weekend, never shooting higher than 68 in four rounds, so he's capable of turning on the switch at any moment.

The leaderboard is stacked with talent after 36 holes, particularly the top four, so there will be a lot more movement Saturday as the contenders separate from the pretenders. 

Fowler has earned his status as the favorite thus far, but Garcia and Scott have posted 65s that will make them dangerous. Walker is quietly lying in the weeds, waiting for an opportunity to pounce. It's a perfect storm of action for the PGA Tour.

Post-Round Reaction

Upon learning he set a new record in this tournament since it moved to PGA National in 2007, Fowler did say there was a little bit of luck and good fortune involved, per the Associated Press (via the Los Angeles Times). 

“I'm definitely pleased about that," Fowler said. "Got a nice break on 1 to kind of continue that. But yeah, I kept myself in it with some up-and-downs, made some good putts, and then continued to move forward. Made a couple birdies coming in, so it was a little bit of a bonus there at the last.”

On the other side of the equation, McIlroy vented his frustration with his performance on Twitter:

The dynamic playing out right now between these two stars is fascinating. Fowler's rise continues, while McIlroy is battling to maintain his perch. Both players will surely be great when 2016 comes to a close, but they look like polar opposites right now. 

Stats per PGATour.com.