By TERRY LYONS
PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of The Honda Classic
Matt Jones took advantage of his 7:36am EDT tee-time and proceeded to tie a PGA National (Champion Course) record, shooting a career-low (61). He leads Aaron Wise and xxx Honda Classic champion Russell Henley by three stokes after the opening round. Jones matched the record (61) by Brian Harman in at PGA National in 2012. The three-stroke opening round lead is the biggest first round lead since 1967.
Windy conditions challenged the field most of the morning and afternoon.
This is the 15th time The Honda Classic is being played at PGA National. In that time period, no first-round leader on this course has won the tournament. Across all courses for the Honda, the last first-round leader to win the Classic was Justin Leonard in 2003 at Mirasol.
Russell Henley opened with (64) to match his lowest 18-hole score in the event. He opened with (64) en route to winning The Honda Classic in 2014.
In bid to join Jack Nicklaus as players to successfully defend a Honda Classic title, Sungjae Im opened with (70).
PGA National features “The Bear Trap” at (Nos. 15-17) a stretch of land that ranks as the fourth-toughest three-hole stretch on Tour since 2007 (among courses played in at least 10 seasons, non-majors).
Honda Classic Tee Times today at 7:25am (EDT/local) through 2:21pm (EDT/local). (link)
Weather for Today: Friday weather calls for a chance of Showers and T-Storms, 50% chance of rain but windy again (15-20 mph with gusts to 30 mph). Similar forecast for the weekend, with showers and windy conditions.
PGATourBrunch will be serving an early “BRUNCH” and posting at 8:00am EDT Saturday-Sunday.
Next Week: World Golf Championship - Dell Technologies Match Playand the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club in Dominican Republic.
Leaderboard After Round One at The Honda
Matt Jones 61 (-9)
Aaron Wise 64 (-6)
Russell Henley 64 (-6)
Five players 66 (-4)
Full Leaderboard (link)
THIS WEEK: The Honda Classic
COURSE: PGA National (Champion), Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedEXCup @TheHondaClassic
TV COVERAGE: Today, March 19: 2:00pm to 6:00pm (ET) on Golf Channel; Saturday, March 13 and Sunday, March 14 - Early coverage on Golf Channel from 1:00pm to 3:00pm and the switch at 3:00pm to 6:00pm (ET) to NBC.
STREAMING: PGA Tour Live will offer streaming coverage of Featured Groups today from 7:30am to 6:00pm (EDT); and on Saturday and Sunday from (7:15am-3:00pm EDT), PGA Tour Live will stream Featured Holes on Saturday and Sunday from (3:00pm to 6:00pm EDT).
PGA Tour is also offering its “Twitter” feed today from 7:30am to 8:35am EDT and on Saturday and Sunday from 7:15am to 8:30am (EDT).
PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: Today, March 19 - 12:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT); then Saturday, March 20 and Sunday, March 21: (1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT)) on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com.
TOURNAMENT SITE (link) and Honda’s site (link)
March Madness Discount for your VERY OWN PGA Tour Brunch: (Our picks for Final Four are: Gonzaga, Alabama, Texas Tech and Illinois!)
Quick Look/Key Information:
Last Week’s Final Leaderboard from The PLAYERS Championship (link)
2020 Honda Classic Results (Sungjae Im was Champion) - (link)
Past Winners and Runners-Up at The Honda Classic (link)
What They’re Saying:
Matt Jones Shot PGA National Record, 61 (ESPN/Associated Press)
Adam Scott’s Stunning Par Save (PGATourCom)
Good and Bad from Honda Classic (Yahoo Sports/Palm Beach Post)
The “Bear Trap” Challenge (GolfCom)
O’Hair Withdrew from The Honda Classic After (80) (Fantasy Alarm)
Sebastian Cappelen Hits the Water (For the Win)
#SportsBiz, Sporting Goods & Golf Industry News
PGA Tour Players Still Finding It Hard to Embrace Olympics (GolfDigest)
An Inside-Out Golf Bag (GolfCom)
One Piece of Gear from DeChambeau’s Bag (GolfCom)
On This Day in Golf History:
March 19, 1978 - Jack Nicklaus won the Tournament Players Championship for the third time, or as he put it, (he) “was the only one to survive.” Nicklaus shot a final round 75 at the Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach to defeat Lou Graham by one shot despite wind-swept conditions. (Courtesy of Randy Walker), Author of On This Day in Golf History, available via Amazon.com and by clicking HERE
Parting Putt:
Float like a butterfly, sting like ?
