For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Friday morning, golf fans, as day two of the Honda Classic is underway.

1. Horschel shares lead

AP report…” Billy Horschel has never won a PGA Tour event in his home state of Florida. His quest to change that is off to a fine start.”

Horschel shot a 5-under 65 on Thursday, tying him with Joseph Bramlett for the first-round lead in the Honda Classic at PGA National. Bramlett had a bogey-free round; Horschel had six birdies and one bogey.

“Just played really solid,” Horschel said. “Didn’t do anything special. Hit some quality iron shots here and there. I wouldn’t say everything was sort of automatic and it was easy. I had to just sort of work my way into making some good swings here and there. But overall, it was a really solid day of golf.”

2. LPGA in Thailand

AP report…”Jennifer Kupcho fired a bogey-free 7-under 65 to share the lead alongside four other players after the opening round of the Honda LPGA Thailand on Thursday.”

• “The crowded leaderboard was no surprise on the Pattaya Old Course: The average winning score over the past 10 years is 21 under par.”

3. Jan Stephenson diagnosed with cancer

Via the Golf Channel digital team…”Jan Stephenson, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and LPGA Legends Hall of Fame, has been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, her foundation announced Thursday. She will begin treatment, including chemo and radiation therapy, in the next two weeks.”

• “It’s impossible to overstate what Jan has meant to golf in not only Australia, but around the world, with all the effort she has put into developing young golfers through her charitable foundations,” said Michael Vandiver, executive vice president of Jan Stephenson’s Crossroads Foundation.

4. LIV players in for PGA Championship

SI Golf Staff…”On Wednesday, the PGA of America released its eligibility criteria for this year’s championship—which will be held at Oak Hill in Rochester, N.Y., from May 18-21.”

• CEO Seth Waugh acknowledged the ongoing PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf divide, but reiterated that the PGA Championship’s goal is to put on a competitive tournament with an appropriately strong field.

• “Our decisions are always based on what’s in the best interest of the PGA of America and conducting the best Championship possible,” Waugh said.

5. Funding the Walker, Curtis Cups

Golf Digest’s Ryan Herrington…”Whan’s love-at-first-sight response to the competitions was hardly fleeting. Shortly after joining the governing body, he spoke with the USGA Executive Committee about what could be done to make sure the two events—each costing between $1 million to $1.5 million to run but with little ability to generate their own revenue—would never find themselves in jeopardy should tough financial times require tough financial decisions.”

• “In turn, the conversation inspired a first-of-its-kind program for the USGA: a capital campaign to endow both matches that, if successful, could serve as a model for how the USGA funds future amateur championships.”

• “Since last May, with little overt publicity, the USGA has been working to find 20 donors willing to give $500,000 each to become the “Keepers of the Cups.” The USGA would match the $10 million raised from this group with money from its strategic investment fund to create a $20 million nest egg keeping the events going in perpetuity.”

6. Mayakoba CEO still hoping for PGA Tour return

Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig…”And while there are some serious hurdles involved for a PGA Tour return, the chief executive officer of the company that owns the Mayakoba Resort would has not given up on the idea. He would very much like to host both entities and believes he can be a bridge to peace.”

• “We would love to have an event with the PGA Tour as well,” said Borja Escalada, the CEO of RLH Properties. “We’d love to be partners in building the outreach among this tour’s platform. The sooner that we learn how to coexist … because in the end, I would say it’s happening in most sports. There are many different leagues, any different organizations.

• “We are trying to develop golf as best we can, and it would be an honor to host both events.”

7. Perez takes a shot at PGA Tour

Our Matt Vincenzi…”LIV Golf’s Pat Perez fired a pretty big shot at the PGA Tour in this week’s pre-tournament press conference for LIV Golf Mayakoba.”

• “When asked about his feelings about starting the year in Mexico, Perez bluntly responded: “I love it because we’re here and the Tour’s not. End quote”

8. Best driver 2023

• A shameless plug for our Best driver of 2023 roundup. We interviewed a panel of expert fitters looking for the best drivers across three swing speed ranges (plus the most forgiving driver). Have a look at what real golfers are really being fit into by the best in the business.

9. Honda Classic Photos

• Check out all of our galleries this week from PGA National.