Honda Classic 2018: Luke List, Jamie Lovemark Tied for Lead After Round 2

Luke List and Jamie Lovemark are tied for the lead at three-under par following Friday's second round of the 2018 Honda Classic at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

The course conditions remained difficult so the overall lead actually dropped one shot from Thursday when Webb Simpson and Alex Noren topped the leaderboard at four under. Simpson is now part of a group one shot back at minus-two with Russell Henley, Rory Sabbatini and Tommy Fleetwood.

Tiger Woods (+1) also remains on the brink of contention after firing a one-over 71, while Justin Thomas (-1), Louis Oosthuizen (-1), Keegan Bradley (+1) and Jason Dufner (+1) are among the other notable players still in the mix.

Not only did List post the best round of the day at four-under par, but he did so on the strength of a bogey-free back nine. Given the toughness of the course, especially in Friday's conditions, it was one of the most impressive rounds of the PGA Tour season so far.

Justin Ray of the Golf Channel provided further details about the 33-year-old Seattle native's climb from 36th place into a tie for the lead:

List is seeking his first PGA Tour win after showing signs of improvement in recent weeks. He opened the year with two straight missed cuts, but he's finished no worse than 26th in his last three outings, with a cumulative score of 15 under in those events.

Coincidentally, Lovemark is one of the players who tied with List for 26th in last week's Genesis Open.

The 2010 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year will be seeking a better finish this time around. He was six shots better over the first two days (138) than the final two (144) at Riviera.

As always, most of the eyes at PGA National on Friday were on Woods, though.

The 14-time major champion continues to look healthy, which remains the most important factor with The Masters just six weeks away, but his game isn't in top form quite yet. For the second straight day, his momentum was quelled by a double bogey, this time on the 15th.

There have been flashes of old Tiger at times, including his birdie at No. 17, as the PGA Tour highlighted:

While he probably won't walk away with his 80th tour win this week, staying in contention while playing for a second straight week would be a terrific sign for the rest of his 2018.

Patrick Reed, Rickie Fowler, Graeme McDowell and Luke Donald headlined the group who fell below the five-over cut line and won't play the weekend.

Looking ahead, the conditions don't figure to get much easier Saturday. While the Weather Channel forecasts possible morning rain showers, which could make the greens a little more receptive, sustained winds of around 14 mph are still expected to increase the degree of difficulty on tee and approach shots.

That means the leaderboard should remain crowded throughout Round 3 and keep a lot of golfers within striking distance heading into Sunday's action.