Honda Classic: Matt Jones goes off with an incredible 61

If you thought that, with the lack of star power at the Honda Classic, that we were due for a less exciting week, Matt Jones was there to prove you wrong.

Not the Aussie you instantly think of, Jones has had a fairly long career on tour, but not one that has been punctuated by too much over-the-top success. He has only won once, with that coming back in 2014 at the Houston Open, where he won via a chip-in.

A 61 is always a bit of a surprise, regardless of who shoots it. With Matt Jones, he has shown some good form this year, with a T-4th earlier at the Bermuda Championship and a T-8th recently at the Genesis Invitational. Still, he wasn’t someone any of us thought would win this week’s event.

The 61 wasn’t just Matt Jones’ best round. It also tied the course record at the Honda Classic.

He started off at PGA National on the first with a look at birdie from 13-feet but was unable to convert. That would be the only time he would miss a putt over the next four holes. 14 feet, 3 feet, 4 feet, and 5 feet would lead to four straight birdies and a very early lead at the top of the Honda Classic leaderboard.

He then nearly made a 64-footer on the 6th, rolling it inside one foot. It seemed like a magical day, and the potential to go low was there for Matt Jones. He nearly made them on the 8th and 9th as well, rolling them to around just a half a foot away.

Another birdie wouldn’t come until the 11th hole when he knocked home a 17-footer to get to -5 on the day. No streak of four would come this time, although he did go up-and-down on 12 and 14 for par both times. Birdie six would come on the 13th, as he hit his approach shot to just six feet.

Already sitting atop the leaderboard by two shots, Matt Jones walked to the 16th tee box having spent the entire day dialed in with both his irons and his putter. Finishing par-par-par would be a fantastic day, especially while the rest of the competition floundered a bit behind him.

Instead, he hit arguably the shot of the day on the 16th, sticking his approach from 190 yards out to just six inches. Maybe he was tired of putting it because, on the par-3 17th, he would chip in from off the green. He then finished his day off on the par-5 18th, making the green in two, and finishing with a five-footer for this third straight birdie, and ninth of the day.

Matt Jones was able to card a bogey-free round, making as many birdies as he did pars. It’s a fantastic round and puts him into an incredible position heading into day two of the Honda Classic.