Thomas sets PGA 36-hole scoring record
HONOLULU — Justin Thomas finished with another eagle and made it into the PGA Tour record book again Friday.
Thomas holed an eightfoot putt on the par-5 18th for a 6-under 64 to set the 36-hole scoring record at 123. He also had a five-shot lead over Gary Woodland going into the weekend, when the focus shifts from records to a trophy.
Coming off a 59, Thomas started slowly until running off four consecutive birdies around the turn. He bogeyed the 17th hole from the bunker, then hit out of the rough to 8 feet on the last hole to atone for it.
Woodland had a second consecutive 64 and was at 12-under 128. Olympic gold medalist Justin Rose (64) and Zach Johnson (61) were in a group seven shots back.
GOLF Austin takes his turn at a 59
Woody Austin shot a 12-under-par 59 in the Diamond Resorts Invitational at Orlando, Fla., scoring 43 points in the modified Stableford event for PGA Tour Champions, LPGA Tour and celebrity players.
Coming off offseason hernia surgery, Austin, 52, closed with a three-foot par putt in pouring rain. He holed a 47-yard pitch for eagle on the par-5 ninth and had 10 birdies on the Four Seasons Resort’s 6,626-yard Tranquilo course. He earned six points for the eagle and three for each birdie.
Kevin Sutherland shot the only 59 in official PGA Tour Champions play, accomplishing the feat in the 2014 Dick’s Sporting Goods Open. On Thursday in the Sony Open in Hawaii, Justin Thomas had an 11-under 59 to become the seventh player with a sub-60 round in PGA Tour history.
Joe Durant was second in the pro competition with 34 points, followed by Brandt Jobe at 33, and Kenny Perry at 32. Lexi Thompson was tied for 13th with 26 points to top the four LPGA Tour players in the field. In other news: • Rory McIlroy remained in contention in the SA Open at Johannesburg despite a back problem that nearly forced him to withdraw before the round. The second-ranked McIlroy shot a 4-under 68, leaving him three strokes behind leader Graeme Storm of England. Storm shot a course-record 63 to reach 12-under 132.
BASEBALL Arrieta, Harper land big deals
Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta, Washington star Bryce Harper and Baltimore standouts Manny Machado and Zach Britton got big-money deals as more than 100 major leaguers reached agreements for 2017 and left just 27 players on track for salary arbitration.
After helping lead the Cubs to their first World Series title since 1908, Arrieta agreed to a one-year deal for $15,637,500. He can become a free agent after this season.
Harper, who slumped after winning the 2015 NL MVP award, agreed at $13,625,000, leaving himself with one more year of arbitration eligibility before he can go on the open market.
Machado, the Orioles’ slugging third baseman and Gold Glove winner, got $11.5 million, while Britton, who led the AL in saves, accepted $11.4 million.
TENNIS Djokovic’s draw could be tough
Six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic drew a difficult first-round opponent in Fernando Verdasco, and Roger Federer’s fall in the rankings complicated his chances at Melbourne Park after he ended up in same quarter as topranked Andy Murray, No. 5 Kei Nishikori and No. 10 Tomas Berdych.
The official draw for the season’s first major delivered an awkward opponent for second-seeded Djokovic. Verdasco had an upset win over fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the first round last year and had five match points before losing to Djokovic in the semifinals at Doha last week.
Six-time women’s champion Serena Williams, aiming for an Open-era record 23rd Grand Slam singles title, drew a challenging first-round opponent in Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic — who was seeded 12th last year — and also had No. 9 Johanna Konta, No. 17 Caroline Wozniacki and No. 6 Dominika Cibulkova in her quarter.
SOCCER Dynamo acquire DeLaGarza
The Dynamo were extra busy on the first day of the MLS SuperDraft, using one trade to help make another one.
The Dynamo acquired fullback A.J. DeLaGarza, 29, from the Los Angeles Galaxy in exchange for $125,000 in general allocation money and $50,000 in targeted allocation money.
The Dynamo also acquired $100,000 in general allocation money as part of a trade with Portland that netted the Dynamo the No. 10 overall pick and an international roster spot for the 2017 season. The Dynamo sent the No. 4 overall pick to Portland.
The Dynamo picked Hofstra University midfielder Joseph Holland with the No. 10 overall pick. Holland, a 24-yearold native of London, had 19 goals and 28 assists in 72 appearances over four seasons at Hofstra. In the second round, the Dynamo picked University of Tulsa keeper Jake McGuire and University of Akron defender Danilo Radjen.