Honda Classic 2016: Saturday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

PGA National Champion Course is widely regarded as one of the most difficult stops on tour, but the 2016 Honda Classic is agreeing with Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia after the pair tied for the 54-hole lead at nine under par. 

This tournament is definitely a two-man race with 18 holes to play. Third place belongs to Blayne Barber, who is four shots behind Garcia and Scott. Rickie Fowler's run of good fortune came to a crashing halt, as he shot a four-over par 74 to fall into a tie for fourth place. 

Here's the full leaderboard for this year's Honda Classic after three rounds, courtesy of PGA.com:

Scott was quietly going about his job through two rounds. He opened with an even-par 70 before making a move on Friday with a 65 that left him three shots behind Fowler for the lead. 

Scott was mostly terrific en route to shooting a 66. He briefly held sole possession of the lead following this birdie on No. 12, capping off a marvelous 37-hole stretch for the Australian, via the PGA Tour:

He wasn't done showcasing his talents after that putt. He hit another one on No. 13, while Garcia bogeyed the same hole to give Scott a three-shot lead. 

It seemed evident early that Scott was locked in, as he made five birdies in a seven-hole stretch, including four straight from No. 6 through 9, to make the turn at five under par for the day.

According to Golf Channel's Justin Ray, Scott's approach shots from No. 7 through No. 13 were essentially perfect:

Yet this course has a way of turning on a player quickly, as it did for Scott. He was breezing through the round, looking like a safe bet to carry the lead into Sunday when out of nowhere he quadruple-bogeyed the 15th hole thanks to two shots landing in the water. 

The PGA Tour provided evidence of the scene for Scott in what was an otherwise strong round:

That could turn out to be a bad omen for Scott, as Ray pointed out no player who shot a quadruple-bogey in a tournament has gone on to win that event since Phil Mickelson in 2009. 

Garcia took advantage of Scott's major disaster, playing consistent golf virtually all day, save for his hiccup on No. 13. He hit a birdie on the final hole, pushing him into a tie with Scott for the lead. 

As Ray noted, there may have been something in the air for the players who teed off at 1:30 p.m. compared to the final pairing:

That was posted before the round ended. Fowler and Jimmy Walker couldn't catch a break with a combined score of 13 over par.

Walker's round can be perfectly summed up by this short bogey putt on the ninth hole, via the PGA Tour:

After starting Saturday in second place, Walker plummeted all the way down to a tie for 32nd place with a score of 79 that included three double-bogeys and just one birdie on No. 18 that gave him something to celebrate. 

The day even started off badly, albeit in humorous fashion, for Walker, as noted by Golf Channel's Randall Mell:

Sometimes the best thing to do is show off your good nature and put everything in the rearview mirror. Walker certainly has nothing to gain by dwelling on Saturday's effort. He just needs to step back, work on his swing and everything will be fine before he tees off again. 

The same can be said for Fowler, who was playing as well as anyone prior to Saturday. He didn't have a bogey in the first two rounds of this tournament; he started off with back-to-back pars before the wheels started to fall off. 

Fowler had three bogeys on the front nine and didn't have a birdie in the round after having eight in the first 36 holes. 

Yet history seemed to indicate Fowler was in for some sort of letdown, as he has not sealed the deal after taking a 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour, per ESPN Stats & Info:

There is still time for Fowler to change that narrative, but it will take a big rebound on his part and a collapse by Garcia and Scott to make it happen. Scott did prove that one hole can change an entire round, so anything is possible. 

The way Scott and Garcia have carried themselves through 54 holes, though, suggests this will remain a battle between the two with everyone else fighting for third place. 

The course at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, isn't going to yield many low scores, with just 13 players currently under par, so a smart, conservative round on Sunday will likely produce the winner. Scott will learn from his biggest mistake, while Garcia has kept the major disasters at bay to make for an interesting dynamic with one round left.

Post-Round Reaction

Given the way Scott's round fell apart on the 15th hole, it's no surprise that was the first thing he talked about after the round, per Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post:

"

That’s what this course is about, isn’t it? I was trying I was trying to get a ball dry [onto the 15th green]. Hopefully, that is out of the way and I can do a little better [Sunday]. I’m playing great, and the way I played [Saturday] was beautiful. I hit a bad shot on my first shot on 15 and it was the wrong spot to do it.

"

Yet being a consummate professional, Scott was never derailed by that one bad moment. He kept himself in a position to win. 

Garcia, to his credit, isn't taking anything for granted. He told the Associated Press (via ESPN.com) it wouldn't surprise him to see some of the players behind him and Scott make a run on Sunday:

"

Who can tell me that the guys that are 4 under are not going to go and play like Adam did today? We'll see how the day goes. And then if it becomes a two-horse race on the last three or four holes, I'll welcome that. But I will expect some of the guys behind to shoot a good number and make it tough for all of us.

"

This tournament has been so unpredictable thus far, so Garcia is probably correct to stay on his toes in order to avoid something bad happening so close to the finish line.