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Late-blooming Jones eyes Olympics berth

3 minute read

Australian golf star Matt Jones hopes his best years are to come after winning his second PGA Tour event and a late spot in next month's Masters at Augusta.

MATT JONES
MATT JONES Picture: Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Eyeing the Olympics, the Masters and generally the best years of his golfing career, Matt Jones is a true believer that life begins at 40.

The US-based 40-year-old from Sydney says he still has big ambitions after blitzing the field by five shots to land his second PGA Tour win at the Honda Classic in Florida.

"I've probably underachieved, in my opinion, for what I could have done," said Jones, the two-time and reigning Australian Open champion who has otherwise never seriously contended at a major.

"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.

"It's very cut throat. We're working to keep our jobs every year and you have to perform well to be able to do that. It's a very tough game we play out here.

"There's those exceptional golfers that you see on TV a lot and then there's probably I don't know how many of us out here that are really, really good golfers and people don't understand.

"But it's just not that easy to win out here. There are great golfers everywhere."

After quietly turning 40 in lockdown last year, Jones had D & M discussions with his wife, former Miss Idaho Melissa, about how much longer he should continue playing for.

But the father of three maintains the fire still burns and that he has unfinished business to tend to, having blown the halfway lead at the 2016 US PGA Championship, which countryman Jason Day ultimately won at Whistling Straits.

"I've spoken to Adam Scott about this," Jones said after upstaging fellow 40-year-old Scott at the Honda Classic.

"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."

Scott, Day and Jones all turned down the chance of representing Australia at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

But with no Zika virus this time around, Jones says the rescheduled 2021 Tokyo Games are definitely on his radar.

"I've thought about it," he said.

"Actually because I turned it down last time, which in hindsight's probably, I would have liked to have done it.

"It would have been nice to say I was an Olympic athlete or I played in the Olympics. It's something I'll think about now."

First things first, though, and that's the Masters.

His only previous visit to Augusta National came in 2014 after he gained a late start by winning the Houston Open the week before.

It was a mad rush.

"I can't remember much about that week. It was all a blur," Jones said.

"So I'm looking forward to getting some preparation on the course this year."

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