Veteran Australian tour pro Brendan Jones is playing in this week’s International Series Singapore hoping to rediscover the form that secured an “out of the blue” tournament win on the Asian Tour in March.
The 48-year-old rolled back the years, adding to the 15 career titles he has claimed in Japan – including the Asian Tour’s co-sanctioned Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open in 2010 – winning the New Zealand Open by three shots at the Millbrook in Queenstown [above].
Jones feels that his surprise success has counted against him but hopes the prestige of this week’s Asian Tour marquee event at Tanah Merah Country Club, which begins today, could inspire a return to form.
“Winning in New Zealand early in the year opened a door for me that I hadn’t planned. I have taken advantage of these big tournaments and been to England, Scotland, back to Japan and Korea and then back to Japan, now here I am in Singapore. That’s a lot of travel and I just haven’t had that form I had earlier in the year,” he said.
Jones, who turned pro 1999 when defending International Series Singapore champion Nitithorn Thippong was only a toddler, is in the autumn of his career. But the chance to play the “bigger events” of the International Series has given the former Australian Amateur champion a real shot in the arm.
He joked: “If I were 20 years younger [the travel] would be fantastic, but knocking on the door of 50, it is a little more difficult than it used to be. But at same time I have enjoyed it. It has added a little bit of a spark to my career.
“I know I’m nearer the end than the start of my career, but to have the opportunity to play these bigger events in England, Scotland and here, has given me a bit of excitement after 20-odd years on the Japan Golf Tour, and I hope the golf turns around for me and I can get excited about the golf on the course.”
Reflecting on his shock win earlier this year and his immediate goals, Jones is philosophical.
“The win came out of the blue. Last year I had taken time off for COVID, I sat out for around two years, and I found it very hard to pick it up,” he said.
“The way I used to play and the way I have been showing I could play were two different things and at the start of this year I came in fresh, and I surprised myself! I finished fifth in Sydney and had a T-8 the week after my New Zealand win, and I felt my game had turned around.
“But I just haven’t had the consistency I always had. Going forward I am going to play a lot more on the Asian Tour – it is on a great trajectory and the International Series events have been fantastic, I have loved the ones I played and being in the category (tournament winner). I look forward to playing them going forward.
“As I get close to 50, I want to pick and choose more, and I think next year I will be able to do that. I’m looking forward to playing places I haven’t been and hopefully the game will come around a bit. The Asian Tour has always been a great opportunity, in my opinion, and now with the alignment with LIV, it has a lot more to offer.”
