Aussie Jones makes nice start to the Open

Matt Jones is refusing to get carried away after taking advantage of ideal scoring conditions to post a steady four-under-par 68 in his first round of the British Open at St Andrews.

As fellow Australian Rod Pampling struggled to a 77, Jones collected five birdies in his first competitive look at the Old Course to be well-placed to make the cut once again after finishing equal 54th on his Open debut last year at Royal Liverpool.

“It’s great to get off to a start like that playing my second British Open, especially playing this golf course,” Jones said.

“I played smart out there, just kept it out of trouble and gave myself some birdie chances and made a nice one on the last there.”

Jones picked up shots on the second, fifth, 11th, 15th and 18th holes, with his only blemish coming on the par-4 seventh.

“I just mis-hit my sand wedge. Other than that, I played fine,” he said.

“I definitely wanted to birdie the last to get to four under. I did that so it was definitely a nice way to finish the round.”

Well in red figures, Jones said he didn’t care how low the leaders went on the opening day.

“There’s three rounds left. It means nothing,” he said.

“Just to get off to a good start, I’m happy with four under.”

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