It was a seven-year itch he couldn’t be sure would ever be scratched, but Matt Jones says his victory at the Honda Classic is the precursor to a final flourish to his PGA Tour career.
The two-time Australian Open champion looked in complete control on a PGA National layout that can bring the best undone, his five-stroke winning margin equalling Jack Nicklaus (1977) and Camilo Villegas (2010) as the largest in the tournament’s history.
It also extended Australia’s streak of winning years on the PGA Tour to 33 – the longest of any nation outside the USA – and gave Jones reason to think that life after 40 may just yet be the most productive of his career.
“I’ve spoken to Adam Scott about this. We’ve got five really good, hard years ahead of us, where we think we can do something special and I think this sets me on a path where I could,” said Jones, whose previous PGA Tour title came at the 2014 Houston Open.
“I’ve probably underachieved, in my opinion, for what I could have done. But I’ve got some time left. I feel like my game’s getting better as I get older. I’m hitting it better, I’m hitting it longer, so there’s nothing to say that that won’t happen.”
Jones’ victory came with the added bonus of earning a return trip to Augusta National for the Masters Tournament (where he shared 26th place) and saw him break back into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
FEATURED IMAGE: Getty Images | Jared C. Tilton
