Jones briefly extended his lead to four strokes with a birdie on the second before dropping a shot at the par-4 third.
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A member of the host Australian Golf Club since he was 15, Jones grabbed four birdies in six holes before the turn to spark his second round, which gave him a 135 total he thought would still be close to the lead by the end of the day.
Spieth’s 67 was the best round of the day and put him on seven-under, two shots better than Rhein Gibson (68) with two other Australians, Lincoln Tighe (70) and Aron Price (70), in a share of fourth on four-under.
Adam Scott rolled the dice and came up a victor to keep his Australian Open title hopes flickering with a third-round three-under-par 68 on Saturday.
Jones’ strong finish when under siege from Spieth has given him a three shot cushion over the American, the pair to a large extent separating themselves from the field although Jones refuses to concede it is a match play situation tomorrow.
“I’ll have to have them yell during Jordan’s backswing or something”, Jones said. Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke and England’s Lee Westwood are in a tie for 14th place on even par.
He teed off for the third round Saturday morning with playing partner Pan Cheng-tsung of Taiwan, almost 2 1-2 hours before the leading groups that included defending champion Jordan Spieth, who trails Jones by four strokes.
“I was lazy in my decision making and my swings”, said Spieth.
“I struck it nicely, there’s not too much room to land it, up there”, Spieth said. It appeared thsat the top would be more closely bunched, but Jones birdied the last two holes, likely crushing the dreams of those at 1 under, including Aussie icon Scott. “It will be a lot of fun”. “I’m not sure what the wind will be tomorrow but if I go out and shoot two or three under I’ll be tough to beat so it’s in my hands”.
The 2013 Masters champion’s struggles began on the front nine when he three-putted for bogey from five metres on the 11th, then wasted golden birdie opportunities on the 12th and par-5 14th.
Scott has won at least one title every year since claiming the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa in 2001, his first year as a full-time professional.
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“No it is not match play at all”, said the leader.
