Joe Highsmith ekes in front at Puerto Rico Open

Field Level Media|published: Fri 8th March, 18:26 2024

Jan 26, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Joe Highsmith hits his tee shot on the first hole during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Course - South Course. credits: Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports

Joe Highsmith clung to a one-shot lead at the Puerto Rico Open with three holes left in his second round when play was suspended Friday in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

Highsmith, one of eight co-leaders after the first 18 holes were complete, was 6 under for his round and 13 under for the tournament when play was halted due to darkness. The 18 players who still need to complete their rounds, including Highsmith, will resume at 7 a.m. local time Saturday.

Six players are tied at 12-under 132: Germany's Matti Schmid (65), Puerto Rico's Rafael Campos (67), Japan's Ryo Hisatsune (67). Brice Garnett (66), Erik Barnes (66) and Kevin Streelman (67).

Highsmith started his round on the back nine at Grand Reserve Golf Club, birdieing Nos. 10 and 17 and holing an eagle at the par-5 18th. After his lone bogey thus far at No. 1, he bounced back with birdies at Nos. 2, 4 and 5.

Highsmith is a rookie making his eighth career PGA Tour start.

"I felt like this year I just haven't done a great job kind of just focusing and being like clear on what I'm trying to do out there," Highsmith told reporters after Thursday's round. "It's been easy to get distracted with a lot of stuff out here. (Thursday) was nice to kind of get back to the basics and see that work, which was great."

Campos, 35, is continuing his quest to become the first native of Puerto Rico to win the tournament. This is his 15th appearance in the Puerto Rico Open; his best showing was a third-place finish in 2020.

"I'm happy I'm playing good, I really am, because I know these (fans) are coming out because they want to see some good golf," Campos said. "It's very difficult, it truly is. I have a lot of pressure, a lot of stress out there, but truth is I try to really blank out and not really pay attention to what's going on in my surroundings."

The projected cut line was 4 under par. Camilo Villegas of Colombia (3 under), Russell Knox of Scotland (3 under), Brandt Snedeker (3 under) and South Korea's S.H. Kim (2 under) were among the notables on track to miss the cut.

—Field Level Media