Australian Open golf: second round Adam Scott

Adam Scott, who like defending champion Jordan Spieth opened with a 71, failed to take advantage of the easier conditions, shooting 73 to move further down the leaderboard. Spieth said the wind definitely played a factor in his problems, saying that it was a guessing game to know which club to use and how to play to defeat it.

“It would be fantastic if I won the Australian Open and it’s something I have thought about growing up and watching the likes of my boyhood hero Greg Norman winning this event”, said Jones.

Arizona-based Jones, 35, joined the Australian Club as a 15-year old and named Greg Norman and Tiger Woods as his inspiration for pursuing the title.

Having signed for a four-under 67 on day one, Jones was again in fine fettle, sinking four birdies on his way home – blemished by two bogies.

“I think I’ll go get some rest, it was an early morning, and come out tomorrow ready for a low one”, he added.

This time around, he is a more rounded player. “If there was no wind, I could have gone out and shot three over today – that’s how golf is”. “The course suits me down to the ground, I can carry a lot of the bunkers”.

“That last hole was really tough as I just didn’t know what to hit and I ended up two clubs off, thinking the wind was helping when it was actually hurting”, he said.

The man from Wollongong acknowledged his inexperience as the first-round leader. But you’ve got to get there to see how you react. Spieth, however, says to count him in unless he’s injured or, by some miracle, the world’s top-ranked golfer fails to qualify.

Unheralded US PGA Tour player Matt Jones is the player to catch entering the third round of the Australian Open in Sydney. “That’s what I’m going with”.

The best of the New Zealanders is Gareth Paddison who is tied 14th after an even-par 71 to be two over for the tournament.

The Belgian Bomber shot the best score of the day – a five-under 66 – and is now four shots off the pace as he looks for a first triumph since the 2012 Volvo World Match Play Championship.

The 2009 champ didn’t discount his chances, however, saying he felt good and that “two rounds in the mid-60s” could still be enough.

The head shakes and arm swipes turned into a beaming smile, however, when he whipped an eight iron 181 yards towards the flag on the par-four 17th and watched as the ball bounced twice before trickling into the hole.

The efforts of Jones and Sinnott also have them in line to secure one of the three places for next year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon, Scotland. He was tied for second with Taiwan’s Yu Chun-an.

Some big-name pros missed the cut, too, with Presidents Cup stars Marc Leishman and Steve Bowditch missing out.