Matt Jones ended a near seven year wait for his second PGA TOUR title at The Honda Classic, storming to a five-stroke victory in Florida.
The Australian carded a final round 68 to finish comfortably ahead of America’s Brandon Hagy at PGA National, tying the largest margin of victory in the tournament’s history.
Jones led after the first round, firing a bogey-free nine under par 61, and then held a three-stroke lead after 54 holes. He quickly extended his advantage with birdies on the first and third holes.
Back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th holes cancelled out dropped shots on the seventh and 11th holes, and he played the infamous ‘Bear Trap’ at the Nicklaus-designed course in one under par as he signed for a two under par final round.
“It's not easy to win out here,” said Jones. “I've had a couple of chances, but they're few and far between unless you're the top guys, which they're there regularly. But for me to close it out today on this golf course is amazing and it's something that I can always look back on.
“I've had ups, I've had downs, but to win a second time, on this golf course, in these conditions that we faced all week is phenomenal and hopefully it's something I can build on for the rest of the year. I mean, I really played amazing golf all four days. I didn't make any real mistakes, which is what you need to do around here.”
European Tour affiliate member and defending champion Sungjae Im, of South Korea, finished in a share of eight place, while Tom Lewis was the top-performing European as he finished tied for 36th.
