Jordan Spieth's grip of the Australian Open is not entirely secure as he sits three shots behind table leader Matt Jones heading into the final day.
Spieth had to recover from a poor opening three holes in windy playing conditions, to eventually card a four-under par 67 and hold on to second place in Sydney. After a flury of bogeys, Spieth began his recovery after four holes to bring himself back to one over. Three more birdies and an eagle on the 17th ultimately corrected the mistakes of the opening phases.
Speaking after the round, Spieth praised Jones and said he is looking forward to the final day.
'There’s one more day to go and I get to play with him. There is no better person to beat on the final day. To have him in the group, to go up against the number one in the world will be a lot of fun.'
If you missed THE pivotal moment of the day, here it is. @JordanSpieth hole 17, 8-iron, 165 mtrs... #AusOpenGolf pic.twitter.com/Vm9ZxzsJJb
— Australian Open Golf (@AusOpenGolf) November 28, 2015
Matt Jones also struggled throughout the day. 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.
Matt Jones (-10) leads Spieth by 3 at #AustralianOpen: https://t.co/vkhjqIYdRS Scores: https://t.co/2wtDKfDzNZ pic.twitter.com/dRrShZNLAn
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) November 28, 2015
Remarking on his disastrous start, Spieth confessed that he did not expect to get as close to Matt Jones at the end of the day.
'When I finished my round I thought I’d be tied or one back, it looks now like it’s two or three shots. But either way it’s a lot better than it was through the first four holes. It was a great fightback, one of the best fought rounds I’ve had that I can remember – to be in a position starting the day to be able to make a move but then completely fall out of it in the first four, just out of sync, not disinterested but lazy in my decision-making and my shots, and then to completely rebound.'
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke is nine shots off the pace on a a card of 70.
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