Friday, 19 February 2021:
 | | MATT JONES. | |
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Australian Adam Scott's title defence has started solidly while compatriot Matt Jones is eyeing the frontrunners at the PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational.
Defending champion Scott has fired a two-under opening round with Jones shooting four-under at the Riveria Country Club in Los Angeles.
Jones is three behind first-round leader Sam Burns, yet described his round as "scrappy".
"It's about managing misses and trying to get up and down ... I was able to do that," the 40-year-old Sydneysider said.
"I didn't hit it as good as I'd like to but I still managed to get a really good score."
Scott, seeking a 15th PGA Tour win, used a new putter for the first time in a competitive round.
"I felt pretty good out there but I just didn't hit it as good off the tee as I was hoping," he said.
"But it's a course I'm comfortable on, so even hitting it poorly, I kind of feel like I know how to get it around.
"I putted very nicely. It would have been nice to shoot a couple better, but I just didn't hit enough good shots."
Scott was joined on the same score by compatriots Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman, all of whom are tied 19th.
They are one behind a star-studded group comprising world No.1 Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Francesco Molinari, Keegan Bradley, Talor Gooch, Brooks Koepka and Sebastian Munoz.
World No.2 Jon Rahm and Ricky Fowler are among those to shoot 70s.
American Burns leads by two from Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick and Max Homa.
The 24-year-old is winless in 69 previous PGA Tour starts with his best result a tie for third in the 2018 Sanderson Farms Championship.
"I think we were just pretty consistent throughout the round," Burns said. "We knew we were going to have a tough stretch there to kind of start the back nine. I think just being patient out here (helped).
"This golf course at times doesn't offer you a lot of opportunities, so I think just with that mindset going in we were just going to kind of take what we could get."
