Digital Sports Desk

Online Destination for the Best in Boston Sports

Archives for January 14, 2022

PGA Tour: “61” is the Magic Number

by

HONOLULU – Sixty-one has been the magic number in the State of Hawaii. Last week at the Sentry, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Matt Jones each carded a Kapalua course record (61) and Kevin Na posted a career-best (61) to take an opening round lead at the SONY Open.

Na leads all PGA Tour players for most rounds of 62 or better since hole-by-hole tracking began in 1983. He has (11) such rounds. Na also leads the field in Driving Accuracy as the only player to hit all 14 fairways in round one to mark the eighth time in his career he hit every fairway in a round.

The defending champion here at the SONY, Na is seeking to become the the first player to successfully defend a tournament title since Viktor Hovland at the 2020-21 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba.

Jim Furyk’s (62) marks his lowest opening round on Tour and lowest round since his (58) in the final round of the 2016 Travelers Championship, the PGA Tour record for low 18-hole score. Furyk won the 1996 Sony Open in Hawaii which was his second of 17 PGA TOUR victories. He was 25 years, 9 months and 6 days when he won in 1996. He’s 51 now.

SONY Open Leaderboard – After Round One

Kevin Na 61 (-9)

Jim Furyk 62 (-8)

Russell Henley 62 (-8)

Five players 63 (-7)

Big East: DePaul Defeats Seton Hall

by

CHICAGO – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – DePaul recorded its first BIG EAST win of the season on Thursday, while Butler nailed a win at Georgetown to start a three-game road trip.

The Blue Demons got a scare in the final minute, but never trailed in a 96-92 win against the 20th-ranked Pirates. Transfer Jalen Terry, in only his third start, scored a career-high 28 points. David Jones added 24 points and eight rebounds. Javon Freeman-Liberty scored 12 points before leaving with an injury in the second half.

Jared Rhoden led Seton Hall (11-4, 2-3 BE) with 25 points and seven rebounds. Bryce Aiken added 22 points. The Pirates trailed by 11 points with one minute to play before cutting the deficit to two in the final seconds.

Butler used an 18-4 run to start the second half en route to a 72-58 victory at Georgetown. The Bulldogs (9-6, 2-2 BE) were led by Jair Bolden’s 23 points. Bryce Nze helped with 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Butler plays Villanova at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday.

The Hoyas (6-7, 0-2 BE), who were led by Tyler Beard’s 15 points and five assists, were without regulars Donald Carey and Dante Harris along with coach Patrick Ewing.

Both games on Saturday tip at noon ET. FOX will telecast Creighton at No. 17 Xavier. Both teams lost to Villanova in their last games. The Bluejays (10-4, 2-1 BE) lost 75-41 on the road on Jan. 5. The Musketeers (12-3, 2-2 BE) dropped a 64-60 home decision on Wednesday. Both teams feature balanced scoring attacks with four players averaging in double figures.

Seton Hall will look to bounce back when it plays at Marquette on FS1. The Golden Eagles (11-6, 3-3 BE) have won three in a row after Tuesday’s 87-76 win against DePaul. Seton Hall has taken the last six meetings between the two teams.