Jones maintains impressive run at UBS Japan
BY Damien McDowell | Japan Tour | 2007 UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship | Round Three | 30 Jun 2007
Rallying with two birdies on the back nine, Australia’s Brendan Jones lies in a share of eighth position at six shots behind Shingo Katayama after the third round of the UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship outside Tokyo this afternoon.
The 32-year-old Jones notched what he described as a ‘terrible’ round, but still managed to ensure his seven-tournament streak of finishing in the top-15 in every event this year has a chance to continue for another week.
“Wow, I played badly,” said Jones, who is currently third on the Japan money list. “I just played terrible. I could not hit a fairway and this course, when you are coming from the rough, is hard. I think I hit four fairways and the first one was not until the 12th. It did not feel like I was playing terribly, but I just could not hit it where I was aiming.”
The winner of April’s Tsuruya Open added: “I holed the little putts that I needed to, the six footers for par. I did not really miss any of those that I should have made, but the times that I did hit the fairway I was not hitting good enough shots to make birdies. Given the way I hit the ball, I think 70 was a really good score.”
Only seven players remain under par at the event known as the ‘players championship’ of men’s golf in Japan, with Katayama’s fine round of three-under 67 enough to secure a two-stroke lead at an aggregate of six-under 204.
Japanese pair Naoya Takemoto and Toshinori Muto share second at four-under, with Korean Lee Dong-hwan and Japan’s Kaname Yokoo another two shots adrift at a total of two-under 208.
For Jones, surviving a rough opening nine was the key to grinding out his round. “(Caddie) Tom (Watson) said ‘You are playing badly and you are two-over’, so that was a positive. I played a little bit better on the back nine and got it around in a couple under-par (after birdies on the 10th and 15th holes). As badly as I played, I was happy with 70.”
Jones’ compatriot, Scott Laycock, the only other Australian remaining in the field, endured his second tough day in a row and lies in a tie for 51st after today’s 74. Although posting four birdies and recording only 30 putts, ‘Ray’ – as Laycock is known by his Japanese fans – also had eight bogeys in a roller-coaster day.
The UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship is being played over the par-70, 7,214-yard West Course at Shishido Hills Country Club, located about 100 kilometres northeast of Tokyo, and offers a prize purse of ¥150 million (about AUD$1.5 million).
