LV’s Wise falters, loses Honda lead

Shoots 7 over for final 13 holes

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Aaron Wise had a sixshot lead during the third round

of The Honda Classic, looking poised to turn the tournament into a rout.

From there, everything went wrong for the Las Vegas resident. And Matt Jones took full advantage.

The Australian handled the wind at PGA National to shoot a 1-under 69 on Saturday, going to 10 under for the tournament and moving three shots clear of Wise and J.B. Holmes.

“I’m happy to go low with the ball flight and I’m probably a little more conservative when the wind is up,” Jones, 40, said. “I’ll probably play a little safer than normal. I’m naturally a very aggressive player. But I think in the wind, I have a tendency to manage the golf course differently.”

Wise played his final 13 holes in 7 over, capped by hitting his tee shot into a quagmire of weeds and muck on the 18th for what became another bogey to cap a round of 75. Holmes (67) broke par for his third consecutive round.

“There really wasn’t anything I really struggled with today,” Holmes said. “I hit everything pretty solid. So, it was just a really good day for me.”

C.T. Pan had a bogey-free

65 — the low round of the day — to get to 6 under, along with Cameron Tringale (69) and Sam Ryder (72). Defending champion Sungjae Im (69) was 5 under, tied with Keegan Bradley (67),

Robert Streb (70), Zach Johnson (70), Brice Garnett (70) and Stewart Cink (70).

History says they’re all still in the mix. Only two of the last seven 54-hole leaders at the Honda — Adam Scott in 2016 and Rickie Fowler in 2017 — have gone on to win. Im trailed by three last year entering the final round, Keith Mitchell by one in 2019, Justin Thomas by one in 2018, Padraig Harrington by three in 2015, and Russell Henley by two in 2014.

Scott was tied for the lead after 54 holes on his way to the 2016 win, and Fowler had a four-shot cushion going into Sunday four years ago.

“You mainly just try to focus on what you’re doing,” Holmes said. “There’s enough scoreboards out there; you’re going to glance at it every now and then. But when the wind’s this difficult, anything can happen.”

■ European PGA: At Nairobi, Kenya, UNLV product Kurt Kitayama shot 5-under 66 for a 14-under 199 total to share second place with two others, two strokes behind leader Justin Harding (64), entering the Kenya Open’s final round. UNLV product Garrick Higgo (68) was four shots behind Kitayama.

Marta Lavandier The Associated Press Aussie Matt Jones, who shot 1-over 69 in the third round, has a threestroke lead over Aaron Wise and J.B. Holmes.