The 2020 edition of the Honda Classic commenced on Monday, 24th of February and will run till the 1st of March.

The first round of the event has ended with Tom Lewis leading the leaderboard with 4-under 66, with Harris English sharing the same spot with him. Brian Stuard comes in third place at 3-under. Lewis tops the board for making a bogey-free play, something very rare in an event like that.

For Lewis and English, they are riding on the wave of a sponsor exemption, and they are making good use of it. Being sponsor exempted means that Lewis and English came into the event at the invitation of the sponsors. Such players would not have ordinarily have qualified for the event. But so far, Lewis and English have justified their sponsorship, dominating the leaderboard.

The 29-year-old has had a hard time since turning pro in 2011. Things have not been so great for him, having just 4 professional wins till date, 2 of which are the European Tour title. He won the first one in 2011, just three months after turning pro. But it would take him almost another 7 years to win another European Tour title in September 2017.

He won the Korn Ferry Tour Championship last year, which earned him his PGA Tour Card. Currently ranked at 50 worldwide, he has sunk to as low as 728.

No doubt, having spent this long proving himself, he has learnt something about being patient, leading him to express how he is enjoying the game. He also spoke of how, earlier on in his career, he was frustrated with trying to get things right.

English also had something to say after the match as he admitted that he didn’t hit his best, but found a way to finish the round on a good note. Much like Lewis, English has not secured a PGA Tour win since 2013.

Written by: Leon Osamor