There was no
surprise World Number 1 Jason Day claimed top Australian honours at the 145^th
Open Championship at Royal Troon but in the medium term Matt Jones’ result
might have been more important.

Day was T22
after rounds of 73-70-71-71, three shots better than Jones, but the defending
Australian Open champion will take much from his week in Ayrshire.

After being
mired in a form slump since February, Jones began to show signs of life in
recent tournaments and his opening 69 at Troon was a sign of things to come.

While never a
genuine contender during the week, Jones nonetheless played steady golf over
the four days, much of it in difficult conditions, and will take plenty of
confidence from his result.

With 10
birdies and an eagle over the course, at a far from easy Royal Troon,
Jones can be pleased with his effort after a T16 result at the WGC Bridgestone
two weeks ago.

His eventual
T39 was not as high as he wanted but was predominantly caused by a third round
75 which was played in tough conditions.

Jones played
in the more difficult Thursday morning/Friday afternoon side of the draw making
his opening two round particularly impressive.

Adam Scott and
Marc Leishman will both be disappointed with their finishes, Scot T43 at 5-over
for the week and Leishman T53 at 7-over.

Olympian Scott
Hend was next best at T72 while Greg Chalmers spoiled three days of good work
with a final round 84 to drop to 21-over and last in the field.

While he will
be disappointed with that finish there was much to like about his game over the
course of the week and after his maiden PGA TOUR victory two weeks ago, it
continued a trend of good play.

Five of the 11
Australians to tee up failed to make the cut, Marcus Fraser, Rod Pampling,
Nathan Holman, Nick Cullen and Steven Bowditch all going home after the first
two rounds.