April 23, 2022 by Charlie Eisenhood in News, Recap with 0 comments
JONESBORO, Ark. — Bookending the back nine with 40 foot birdie putts, Alden Harris put together a blistering eight-under par on the final nine holes of his opening round at the 2022 Jonesboro Open to finish the day with a two stroke lead at 11-under. The 1073-rated effort is the highest of his career.
Harris is not yet a household disc golf name. He hasn’t finished better than 20th on the Elite Series this year, though he has flashed strong play of late on the Silver Series, where he finished 6th at Music City Open and 5th at the Open at Tallahassee on consecutive weekends. But he’s played well in the past at Jonesboro: he finished 7th at the tournament in 2020, matching his 11-under to close out the event.
“It’s kind of funny, because I consider myself a woods disc golfer,” said Harris. “But I also — I feel like I play relatively safe. So if I can avoid the bogeys like I did today, I can definitely shoot well out here.”
On Friday, Harris separated himself with his putting — he went 9/9 from Circle 1 and 3/7 for Circle 2, giving him one of the highest strokes gained numbers on the green during round one.
Kevin Jones Bounces Back
It’s been a bumpy season so far for Kevin Jones, who re-signed with Prodigy in the offseason and launched a line of his own music-themed discs. After a fourth place finish at Las Vegas Challenge, he’s missed the top 20 at 5 straight events.
On Friday, though, Jones shot a 1058-rated 9-under, landing him in a tie for second place. It’s his best Elite Series round since LVC and his best start to an event all season.
The Arkansas native credited his putting for landing him near the top of the leaderboard: he hit four putts from outside 25 feet, all for birdie. The biggest key may have been his field-leading 89% Circle 2 in Regulation mark, giving him lots of birdie looks.
Jones is chasing his first podium finish since the 2021 Idlewild Open, where he finished third.
Gannon Buhr Keeps it Rolling
After finishing in the top 10 at three straight tournaments, including last weekend’s Champions Cup, Gannon Buhr is right back at the top of the leaderboard in Jonesboro.
Buhr was one of seven players to eagle the par 5 16th, but it was his eight birdies between holes 3 and 12 that truly set his round apart. No other player shot as well through that stretch.
Psycho Scorecard: Aaron Gossage Edition
What a roller coaster for Aaron Gossage! The bogey / birdie / ace / snowman sequence to close out the front nine gave way to a 7-under back nine. He’s sitting at 6-under, five shots off the lead.
Overheard
“It feels good to back in Arkansas, and it feels good to put in a solid first round.” — Kevin Jones
