PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Matt Jones introduced himself to the golf world at the 2008 Honda Classic when he was tied for the lead going into the final round and had NBC analyst Johnny Miller drooling about the rookie’s swing.
Jones finished fourth that week after he got snared in the Bear Trap. That sure-fire trip to stardom that Miller predicted hasn’t unfolded: Jones has won once on the PGA Tour in the 13 years since.
But Jones played like a Hall of Famer on Thursday, firing a 9-under 61 in windy conditions to tie the Champion course record at PGA National. It gave him a three-shot lead over 2014 Honda Classic champion Russell Henley and Aaron Wise after the first round.
A 61? On the Champ? In these conditions? No player bettered 66 in four rounds last year.
“He’s done? He played all 18 holes?” said Zach Johnson, who had a 67. “If he played 16 holes, that would be a good score.”
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“It was an incredible round, one of the best I’ve ever seen,” said Adam Hadwin, who played alongside Jones. “I just stopped saying, ‘Good shot,’ at some point. He just hit so many, you stop saying it.”
“Could be the round of the year,” said Lee Westwood, who shot 70.
Yet Jones wasn’t fist-pumping his way around the Champion course. Afterward, you couldn’t tell if the 40-year-old Australian shot a 61 or a 71.
Never mind this was his lowest score – by four shots! – in his 330th start on the PGA Tour.
“I play golf for a living,” Jones said. “I mean, I should be able to shoot a good score occasionally.”
How much was he in the zone? After an opening par, Jones birdied the next four holes – and didn’t realize he had done so until he saw a scoreboard at the end of the round.
“I didn’t even think about it,” Jones said. “You can’t think about that on this golf course because every hole can bite you.”
Jones closed with three consecutive birdies, including two at the Bear Trap, to match the 61 Brian Harmon shot in the second round of the 2012 Honda Classic. Jones hit 14 greens, took only 24 putts and was the only player to not make a bogey.
“It was probably one of the better ball-striking days with my irons that I’ve had for a long, long time,” Jones said. “Made a few putts. I got a little lucky to make a 30-footer from off the green at No. 17. It was a very good day.”
It was a reminder of 2008, when Jones opened with rounds of 66 and 67 to get into the final pairing on Saturday, a shot behind leader Brian Davis. Jones had a chance to win on Sunday before he hit it into the water at No. 17, finishing three behind champion Ernie Els.
“I do remember it quite fondly,” Jones said. “Someone sent me a screenshot of that leaderboard yesterday, so it was good to see that.”
Henley also has good vibes at PGA National, having won in 2014 in a playoff against Rory McIlroy, Russell Knox and Ryan Palmer. Henley kick-started his round with an eagle at the 18th hole (his ninth) and made three consecutive birdies at the turn.
“This course will just beat you up and because it’s so hard, I feel like it takes a little pressure off me,” Henley said. “It’s such a beast that you just got to hang in there the entire time.”
There was a Koepka sighting on the leaderboard – Chase, not Brooks, who had to withdraw from his hometown PGA Tour event with a right leg injury. Chase, in on a sponsor’s exemption, was 3 under on his first six holes before settling for a 1-under 69.
Cameron Davis, who last year became the only player to shoot all four rounds in the 60s at the Masters while finishing second, birdied three consecutive holes late in his round for a 66. He’s tied for fourth with Scott Harrington and Kevin Chappell and U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker.
Reigning British Open champion Shane Lowry, who recently moved to Palm Beach Gardens, had a 67 and is tied for eighth with Johnson, Jupiter’s Cameron Tringale and three others.
They’re all chasing Aussie Jones, who had a round Thursday the rest of the field was drooling about.