Jones sizzles with record 61 at Honda
Matt Jones’ opening round at the Honda Classic was remarkable. He was remarkably unimpressed.
Jones tied the course record Thursday on a typically windy day at
PGA National with a bogey-free 9-under 61 giving him a three-shot lead. He matched the mark set by Brian Harman in the second round in 2012, and was one shot better than the final-round 62 that
Tiger Woods posted that year at Palm Beach Gardens.
“That’s an incredible round of golf,” said Lee Westwood, who opened with an even-par 70. “Could be the round of the year, 61 around here, when it’s flat calm, impressive. But when there’s a 15-, 20-mile-an-hour wind blowing, greens are fast, a lot of crosswinds, that’s an incredible round of golf.”
All told, there have been roughly 6,000 tournament rounds at the Honda since it moved to PGA National in 2007. None was better than the one from Jones, an Australian ranked No. 83 in the world.
He seemed most unfazed afterward.
“I play golf for a living,” Jones said. “I mean, I should be able to shoot a good golf score occasionally. It doesn’t happen as much as I want. But yes, I’m very happy with it.”
Russell Henley and
Aaron Wise shot 64s, matching the best score at the Honda by anyone — Jones excluded — since Rory McIlroy and Russell
Eastern Conference Atlantic
Philadelphia Brooklyn Boston
New York Toronto Southeast
Miami Charlotte Atlanta Washington Orlando Central
Milwaukee Chicago Indiana Cleveland Detroit
Western Conference Southwest
San Antonio Dallas Memphis New Orleans Houston Northwest
Utah
Denver Portland Oklahoma City Minnesota Pacific
W
28 28 20 21 17 W
26 18 17 15 11
W
21 21 18 17 11 W
29 24 23 17 9 W
L
13 13 20 21 23
L
14 21 22 25 29
L
16 18 19 23 28
L
11 16 16 24 31
L
Phoenix 26 12 .684 — L.A. Lakers 27 13 .675 — L.A. Clippers 26 16 .619 2 Golden State 21 20 .512 61⁄2 Sacramento 16 24 .400 11 For full standings and boxscores go to the e-Edition at MiamiHerald.com.
THURSDAY
Washington 131, Utah 122 Atlanta 116, Oklahoma City 93 New York 94, Orlando 93 Minnesota at Phoenix, late
New Orleans at Portland, late Charlotte at L.A. Lakers, late FRIDAY
Indiana at Miami, 8
Sacramento at Boston, 7:30 San Antonio at Cleveland, 7:30 Brooklyn at Orlando, 8
Detroit at Houston, 8
Golden State at Memphis, 8 Utah at Toronto, 8
Chicago at Denver, 9
Dallas at Portland, 10 Minnesota at Phoenix, 10
Pct
.683 .683 .500 .500 .425
Pct
.650 .462 .436 .375 .275
Pct
.568 .538 .486 .425 .282
Pct
.725 .600 .590 .415 .225
Pct
GB
— — 71⁄2 71⁄2 101⁄2
GB
— 71⁄2 81⁄2 11 15
GB
— 1 3 51⁄2 11 GB
— 5 51⁄2 121⁄2 20 GB
Knox had 63s in 2014. Nobody in the field last year shot better than a 66.
And Henley and Wise still walked off the course three shots back.
“That’s an amazing round,” Wise said. “But I felt like I played one, too.”
WEDNESDAY
Memphis 89, Miami 85
Sacramento 121, Washington 119 Brooklyn 124, Indiana 115
Detroit 116, Toronto 112
Milwaukee 109, Philadelphia 105 (OT) San Antonio 106, Chicago 99
Golden State 108, Houston 94 Cleveland 117, Boston 110
Denver 129, Charlotte 104
Dallas 105, L.A. Clippers 89
Miami Min FG-A FT-A R A F Pt
Butler 35:45 10-20 2-3 7 2 2 24 Olynyk 18:27 1-2 0-0 6 2 5 2 Adebayo 35:14 5-11 5-6 12 6 4 15 Nunn 24:54 2-10 0-0 6 3 4 5 Robinsn 32:20 4-13 2-3 6 0 1 13 Dragic 28:16 2-11 2-2 3 1 1 6 Herro 25:42 4-11 2-2 5 2 0 11 Okpala 20:47 0-2 0-0 0 1 3 0 Achiuwa 10:28 1-5 0-2 5 0 0 2 Strus 8:07 3-4 0-0 1 0 1 7
Totals 240 32-89 13-18 51 17 21 85
Percentages: FG .360, FT .722. 3-Point Goals: 8-34, .235 (Robinson 3-11, Butler 2-6, Strus 1-2, Herro 1-3, Nunn 1-5, Olynyk 0-1, Okpala 0-2, Dragic 0-4). Team Rebounds: 12. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 2 (Herro, Okpala). Turnovers: 10 (Adebayo 3, Herro 2, Butler, Dragic, Okpala, Olynyk, Robinson). Steals: 4 (Adebayo, Butler, Olynyk, Robinson).
Mem Min FG-A FT-A R A F Pt
Anderson 30:45 4-9 3-4 5 0 013 Brooks 29:09 3-13 2-2 2 2 310 Valancns 23:38 3-5 1-2 12 0 3 7 Allen 24:48 3-13 1-1 612 9 Morant 35:51 5-15 3-5 4 6 213 Clarke 24:22 1-5 4-5 332 6 Melton 23:02 4-9 4-4 10 6 113 Winslow 18:33 2-8 1-2 302 5 Bane 17:43 3-5 0-0 521 8 Jones 12:09 2-3 0-0 021 5
Totals 240 30-85 19-25 50 22 17 89
Percentages: FG .353, FT .760. 3-Point Goals: 10-42, .238 (Bane 2-3, Anderson 2-5, Allen 2-7, Brooks 2-10, Jones 1-2, Melton 1-4, Clarke 0-2, Winslow 0-4, Morant 0-5). Team Rebounds: 10. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 4 (Clarke 3, Anderson). Turnovers: 9 (Allen 2, Brooks 2, Morant 2, Melton, Valanciunas, Winslow). Steals: 5 (Melton 2, Anderson, Brooks, Clarke).
U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker, Scott Harrington, Kevin Chappell and Cameron Davis shot 66. Defending champion Sungjae Im opened with a 68.
ETC.
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