Gordon Jones, the popular handicapper and horse racing writer for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, died Friday, four days after his 95th birthday, his daughter Joanne said.

Jones, a Whittier High and Whittier College alumnus, taught journalism at several universities before he was lured to the Herald Examiner in the 1960s by a group of sportswriters who’d been students of his at USC.

“Prof. Gordon Jones,” as the byline on his daily handicap read, parlayed his work in the newspaper into writing books called “Gordon Jones to Win!” (1976) and “Smart Money” (1977) and hosting pre-race seminars at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Fairplex Park.

His tenure with the Herald Examiner ended in 1985 when he was arrested on misdemeanor bookmaking charges for transporting money to Santa Anita from his “Pick 6 Club” seminars, something Jones said he didn’t know was illegal. The bookmaking charges were dismissed, and Jones paid a $500 fine for lesser municipal-code violations.

Jones continued to host seminars and provide analysis on racing on TV and radio up and down the state into his 80s.

— Kevin Modesti

GOLF

Justin Thomas made a pair of birdies on the crusty, breezy back nine at Harbour Town to salvage a 2-under 69 for a two-shot lead at the RBC Heritage, his first 36-hole lead in more than four years.

Thomas is winless since the 2022 PGA Championship and is weary of the topic. He also knows there’s a long way to go on a Hilton Head Island, S.C., course that demands precision while allowing a low score.

Si Woo Kim had one of those low scores, a blistering start that had him at 8 under through 12 holes until he settled for a 64. He was two shots behind, along with Russell Henley (68).

Six players were within four shots of the lead, a group that includes defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who didn’t have much go right in his round of 70.

Joel Dahmen played bogey-free for the second straight day for a 6-under 66 to set the 36-hole record at the Corales Puntacana (Dominican Republic) Championship and build a four-shot lead going into the weekend at the site of his only PGA Tour victory.

Dahmen won the tournament in 2021, and another victory would be a boost. It won’t get him into the Masters next year, but Dahmen narrowly kept his PGA Tour card last year and winning is worth a two-year exemption.

Michael Thorbjornsen, the Stanford alum who earned a card through the PGA Tour University ranking, matched his career best with a 63 and was four shots behind along with Garrick Higgo (68) and Charley Hoffman (66).

TENNIS

Ben Shelton advanced to his second clay-court semifinals by beating Luciano Darderi 6-4, 6-3 at the BMW Open in Munich.

Shelton, the No. 2 seed, next faces Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo for a spot in the final. The fifth-seeded Cerundolo moved into the last four by defeating David Goffin 6-2, 6-4.

In reaching his ninth tour-level semifinal, Shelton ended Darderi’s career-best winning streak at seven matches, which included the Marrakech title.

Top-seeded Alexander Zverev rallied to beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-7 (6), 7-6 (3), 6-4. The third-ranked Zverev will face Fabian Marozsan or Zizou Bergs in the semifinals.

Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz earned his season-best eighth straight win, beating Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-3 in the Barcelona Open quarterfinals.

Coming off his first Monte Carlo Masters title, Alcaraz’s next obstacle to a third Barcelona title was Arthur Fils.

Fils reached his first semifinal of the year when four-time Barcelona finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas retired after losing the first two games. The injury was unspecified but Fils suspected it was Tsisipas’ back.

Fils is at a career-high 13th ranking and could crack the top-10 for the first time if he wins the tournament.

Making the final would be enough for Holger Rune, at 11th, to return to the top 10.

His chances improved after he ousted defending champ Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-2.

Ruud didn’t help himself with 29 unforced errors.

Rune will face Karen Khachanov, who defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4, 7-5 from 5-2 down in the last set.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Duke guard Tyrese Proctor is entering the NBA draft and skipping his senior season.

The 6-foot-6, 183-pound junior from Australia was a three-year starter and one of Jon Scheyer’s first incoming recruits when he took over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski.

Proctor, who reclassified to get to college a year early in 2022, came on in the second half of his freshman season, then was a complementary scorer averaging in double figures for the rest of his college career. He also worked as a reliable defender, a combination that could make him a possible first-round pick.

Proctor averaged 12.4 points while shooting a career-best 45.2% from the field and 40.5% from 3-point range this year to help Duke win a second Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title in Scheyer’s three seasons and reach the Final Four.

Denzel Aberdeen and Sam Alexis entered the transfer portal, planning to leave Florida after helping the school win the men’s basketball national championship.

The 6-5 Aberdeen appeared to be in line to start in the backcourt next season, but is looking to play elsewhere after former Princeton guard Xaivian Lee committed to transfer to Florida.

The Gators are also losing All-American Walter Clayton Jr., along with fellow standout guards Alijah Martin and Will Richard. All three expect to play pro next season.

Aberdeen averaged 7.7 points last season, starting in five of 39 games.

Alexis scored 4.7 points a game as a reserve in 24 games last season, one year after the 6-9 forward averaged nearly 11 points as a sophomore at Chattanooga.

Michigan State added a well-traveled player from the portal.

Trey Fort, a 24-year-old guard, averaged 14.6 points last season at Samford. He started his career at UT Martin in 2020, then played at two junior colleges, and moved on to Mississippi State and Samford.

BOXING

Jake Paul will take on former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chávez Jr. in the influencer-boxer’s next bout on June 28 at Anaheim’s Honda Center.

Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) and Chávez (54-6-1, 34 KOs) will have a 10-round fight at a 200-pound catchweight limit, promoter Golden Boy announced.

Paul has mostly fought fellow YouTubers and mixed martial artists since beginning his wildly lucrative boxing career five years ago. He fought 58-year-old Mike Tyson last November, winning by unanimous decision.

Chávez, 39, has been somewhere in between a serious boxer and a showman for many years.

He had a long, lucrative career of his own, but it was largely built on Mexican fans’ unconditional love of his famous father. The younger Chávez was best known for lacking discipline and frequently missing weight, although he also managed to win the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defend it three times before Sergio Martinez took it away in 2012.