Matthew NeSmith makes ace at The Honda Classic

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Matthew NeSmith was even par on PGA National’s par-3s in Thursday’s first round of The Honda Classic. RELATED: Leaderboard He had an eventful day on the four holes, though. There was a hole-in-one on the 186-yard, fifth hole and a double-bogey on the opening hole of the Bear Trap, the 165-yard, 15th. “The wind was really hard off the left, I just kind of punched a 5-iron and cut it up into the wind a little bit, and it landed a foot or so on the front of the green and had the perfect amount of little left spin and went right in the middle,â€� NeSmith said. He bogeyed the next hole, then made eight consecutive pars before making double-bogey on 15. He parred the final three holes to shoot 1-over 71. “I got caught by the wind on 15, but I played really solid,â€� NeSmith said. “It’s just kind of tough to get a ton of looks. … I feel pretty happy with it. It’s just live and survive, basically.â€� A cold front blew through Florida on Wednesday evening and led to cool, windy conditions that put some teeth in PGA National. NeSmith’s score was more than a stroke below the morning wave’s scoring average. Tom Lewis shot 4-under 66 to lead after the morning wave. NeSmith arrived at PGA National on the heels of a T6 at last week’s Puerto Rico Open. The rookie has made seven consecutive cuts. His worst finish in his last six starts is T32. He ranks 62nd in the FedExCup.

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