PALM BEACH GARDENS – In search of his fifth career PGA Tour title and first since 2015, Chris Kirk birdied final two holes of the day to claim his sixth 54-hole lead/co-lead on Tour. He is two-for-five in converting to a title.
Florida resident and PGA Tour rookie Eric Cole posted a second straight 4-under (66) and sits solo-second at 11-under (199) while 36-hole leader, Justin Suh, seeks to become the fourth player in the last five years to make The Honda Classic a maiden Tour title.
The 2022 Honda Classic runner-up, Shane Lowry, seeks his third career Tour title and first since the 2019 Open Championship. He is playing despite the unexpected death of his Uncle back in Ireland.
The Honda Classic has served as the first career Tour title for three of the last four winners (Keith Mitchell/2019, Sungjae Im/2020, Sepp Straka/2022).
Ryan Gerard sits (T-8) at (-7). He birded No. 18 to post a 1-over (71) in his second PGA Tour start (2022 U.S. Open/MC). The last Open Qualifier to finish in the Top 10 was Aaron Baddeley, 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship (T6), while the last Open Qualifier to finish in the Top Five was Doc Redman, 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic (2nd).
The last Open Qualifier to win was Corey Conners, at the 2019 Valero Texas Open.
Defending champion Sepp Straka sits (T-8) at (-7). He birdied his first four holes en route to a 4-under (66) in his bid to become the first to successfully defend a Honda Classic title since Jack Nicklaus in 1978.
*This final round will most likely be the final round of Honda’s association and sponsorship of the event. Honda has partnered with the PGA Tour for 42 years.
Honda Classic | Third Round Leaderboard
Chris Kirk 69-62-66—197 (-13)
Eric Cole 67-66-66—199 (-11)
Justin Suh 66-64-70—200 (-10)
Shane Lowry 68-68-65—201 (-9)
Ben Taylor 67-65-69—201 (-9)