Jones Continues To Draw On ‘Home’ Course Knowledge With Aussie Open 67

There’s a lot to be said about home course knowledge.  Just ask Aussie golfer, Matt Jones.

Jones brilliantly eagled the par-5 18th hole in holing a great 25-fooet for a four-under par 67 to be just a shot from the lead on day one of the Australian Open here in a bushfire smoke blanketed Sydney.

The 39-year old earlier collected four birdies and with his only dropped shots at the first and eighth holes.

It left the Sydneysider two shots adrift of the leading Asian duo of Japan’s Takum Kanaya and Taiwan’s Chun-An Yu.

Jones turned pro 2001 and, to date, capped his career in an 18-month stretch from April 2014 to November 2015, first capturing the PGA Tour’s Shell Houston Open in a play-off from Matt Kuchar and then deny then World No. 1 Jordan Spieth and Aussie big-name Adam Scott to win the 2015 Australian Open at The Australian.

It should be no surprise Jones is good at finding the shortest route around the course as he’s been a proud member since he was 15-years old.  And while the original Jack Nicklaus redesigned course has since been further ammended by Nicklaus, Jones was delighted with his effort.

“I would have known the old course better than I do this one, but I know this one pretty well,” he said.

“I putted well today.  I made a few putts for par to keep a round going.  If you miss those, then my whole round is a total different ending.  Sometimes those par putts, 6, 8-foot putts to make par are more important than a 6-foot birdie putt.  To not lose a stroke I find is far more important than making a stroke.

“It’s been a good morning’s golf and I definitely didn’t hit it as good as I know I can, but I saved my round with a lot of good putts.”



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