Australian Open: Jordan Spieth four shots off lead in Sydney

World No. 1 and defending champion Jordan Spieth looms as Jones’ biggest threat after drawing to within four shots of the lead with a three-under 68 on Friday. The highs were about 95 Fahrenheit. I was scrambling, I was hitting some good shots, making some putts.

“It’s pretty cool. I suppose I’m young, but Spieth’s younger, and watching what Spieth did this year winning two Majors and having one of the best years ever basically, it’s pretty cool to be playing alongside him”.

“After yesterday’s round I probably had a little bit of confidence the way I struck the ball and went out there with that confidence today and managed to shoot three under”, Jones said.

No matter the semantics of his weighting, Spieth’s response is in stark contrast to Aussie Adam Scott, who has railed against golf’s place in the Olympic program at every opportunity, saying he intends to skip the 60-player event.

Last year, Spieth shot a final-round 63, a record on the revamped Jack Nicklaus-designed course, to win by six strokes.

“Getting out of bed at four o’clock this morning, I wasn’t springing out of bed”.

“The wind is so flukey out there”, said the Australian, who should at least end his run of five missed cuts on Friday. You can just look at the stats, I was so far down the putting that it doesn’t matter how good you hit it, you’re going to struggle to beat guys like Jason, Jordan and Rory when they’re not putting that badly or hitting it that badly.

“They were incredible, it feels like you’re the first group out there on any hole”, he said.

Australia’s Matt Jones, who is a member at The Australian, birdied the par-5 18th for a 67.

Only about 10 players hit the green through the first half of the field.

The winds made scoring particularly hard on the par-3 second hole from an elevated tee – it was the toughest hole on the course Thursday.

The former Masters champion picked up two double bogeys before the turn, only saving himself from worse by chipping in from a waterside bank at the ninth.

Ogilvy almost holed out with his tee shot and made par, while Spieth hit his approach in the left bunker and made a three-foot par putt.

England’s Lee Westwood was marginally better off than Spieth, on one under par, with Australian Adam Scott matching Spieth’s 71, Darren Clarke posting a four-over 75 and Peter Senior recording a nine-over 80.