Padraig Harrington leads Patrick Reed by one at soggy Honda Classic

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Patrick Reed’s Masters Tournament plans are set. Padraig Harrington hopes to be making arrangements to join him in Augusta if he can win the weather-delayed Honda Classic, which is barely past the halfway mark and will try to finish up today.

Reed, a former Augusta State star, is one shot behind Harrington after 36 holes at soggy PGA National.

If Reed, 24, can win, he would join Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy as the only players with at least five PGA Tour wins before their 25th birthdays.

Reed never stepped on the course Saturday. He completed his second consecutive 3-under-par 67 on Friday before rain and lightning forced the second round to be suspended, and was the clubhouse leader.

Harrington, who won this tournament in 2005, completed the final 12 holes of his second round Saturday morning, and shot 66. Harrington, who is playing on a sponsor exemption, opened with 67 and is at 7-under 133. Reed is at 134, followed by Ian Poulter (71-64) and Brendan Steele (66-69) at 135.

None of those four started Saturday’s third round before play was suspended for the day because of high winds and 4 inches of rain.

Only 24 players played at least one hole of the third round, which is scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. today, followed by the final round. If the final 36 holes aren’t completed today, a Monday finale would be necessary. Scattered thunderstorms are predicted for today.

Reed, who missed the cut in his Masters debut last year, qualified for the 2015 Masters at the end of 2014 by virtue of being in the top 50 in the world (he’s 16th now) and then went out and won the Tournament of Champions, another Masters qualifier, in early January.

Harrington, 43, a three-time major champion who played in the Masters from 2000-2012 but has struggled in recent
years, can return to Augusta National
for the 79th Masters with a victory at PGA
National. Even with a win the Indonesian Open in early December, Harrington is still ranked 297th in the world.
The only way left for him to get into the Masters, which starts on April 9, is to move into the top 50 in the world ranking the week prior to the Masters or to win a PGA Tour event.

“It’s nice to be in contention,” said Harrington, whose last top-10 finish on the PGA Tour came in the Byron Nelson Championship in May 2013 when he tied for 10th. “I was very positive about my game coming in here this week. I don’t know what’s going to happen the next 36 holes but I have a good idea where I’m going. I’m pretty confident.”

Reed, who grew up in Texas, went to high school in Louisiana and now lives back in Texas, knows he’ll face a wet course when he tees off today.

“In Houston, it rains a lot, and I played high school golf in Baton Rouge, where it also rains a lot,” he said. “I’m used to playing in the rain and the wind, so the tough thing is all these guys out here can play in it. So it’s just whoever has it that
week and that day, and hopefully I can just continue to do what I’m doing.”

Reed has 12 birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey through 36 holes.

“The main thing this week so far is I haven’t really had that big miss,” he said. “I haven’t put myself in spots of either penalty shot or short siding yourself downwind.

“It seems like every time I’ve missed the ball, I’ve missed it in the right spot where I’ve been giving myself chances,” he said. “The putter has been working pretty well this week so far, and anytime your putter is working, even if you get aggressive with a chip, you look at 5, 6 feet, you have that confidence that you’re going to make it.”

The cut was at 4-over 144 and didn’t include McIlroy. His first tournament in America in five months lasted only two days. The world’s No. 1 player bogeyed three of his last four holes Friday for 74 and missed the cut by three.

Phil Mickelson, who had missed two consecutive cuts on the West Coast swing, finished up at 67 on Saturday and is five shots behind.