But Jones, a local club member at The Australian, retained his composure amid the drama to birdie the 16th to regain sole possession of the lead.
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Jones’ brother, Brett, is the club pro at Due Process Stables Golf Course in Colts Neck. Adam Scott rebounded from a 73 on Fri.to shoot 68, together with an eagle on the 18th.
Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke trails Jones by nine strokes after a one-under-par 67 left him tied for seventh. He landed three bogeys of his own on the front nine which he later netralised with six birdies to leave 10 under on a card of 68. That was the first time the course had played as a par-71.
The former world No. 1 hit his best-ever final round for the tournament to drag himself from one over at the start of play to draw level with leader Matt Jones, who was three holes further back.
The Open wins of superstar Rory McIlroy, who broke a drought at Royal Sydney in 2013, and Jordan Spieth past year, when it ignited his run to two majors, have made a worldwide bang.
The two US PGA stars will go head-to-head in the final pairing but Jones vowed not to get bogged down in any Sunday shootout with the reigning Masters and US Open champion.
Pitt said the increased economic impact, the media eyes on the event worldwide and the extra vibe among top players for the Australian Open owed a lot to Spieth, McIlroy and Scott playing in recent years.
“I’d like to think I could compete with those guys at the majors and I’ll take as much confidence as I can from this that I can go out and beat them”.
After starting 3 over through the first two holes, Jones made birdies on the fourth and sixth holes.
Bourdy hit four consecutive birdies before a triple-bogey on the par three seventh hit his challenge, despite a mini-recovery late on when he claimed birdies on the 15th and 16th.
The 35-year-old Scott still has a chance for a tournament win if he doesn’t do something special on the weekend in Sydney. After his round Spieth wasn’t about to apologize.
“I had a couple of Bundies”, he said.
“It was very stressful today and it was a new experience for me”.
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“But I guess it fuelled up the tank and I came out on fire”.
