Matt Jones to miss defence of Australian Open title

Matt Jones’s coach has urged people to understand the Sydneysider’s decision to forgo his Australian Open defence.

Matt Jones will remain in the US hoping to consolidate his tour card for next year. Picture: AFP

Matt Jones’s long-time coach has asked fans to understand the ­Sydneysider’s decision to forgo his Australian Open defence in order to concentrate on prolonging his career in the US.

Jones, 36, who upset Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott to win the Stonehaven Cup last year, reluctantly decided to remain in the US rather than return for next week’s Open at Royal Sydney Golf Club.

His limited status on the US PGA Tour means every dollar counts in his pursuit of his playing rights for next season, leaving him with little choice but to sacrifice his Open title.

Jones’s coach, Gary Barter, ­insists the decision has nothing to do with money and everything to do with his longevity on the US PGA Tour, where Jones has been a fixture in recent years.

Rather than return home, he will play the RSM Classic at the Sea Island Resort in Georgia.

“He’s disappointed he’s not playing,” Barter said. “It looks like he is staying over there and playing for more money — that’s got nothing to do with it. It’s to do with the fact that to keep his job over there he has a limited amount of starts this year.

“He definitely wanted to come back but, with his job, he has to take every opportunity.”

Jones’s absence is another blow for Open organisers already reeling after injury forced world No 1 Jason Day to pull out of the event. Scott and Spieth will headline the field, which will be fleshed out by the presence of amateur sensation Curtis Luck and former winners Aaron Baddeley, Geoff Ogilvy, John Senden and Greg Chalmers.

Officials had hoped to add another big name and it is understood they pursued American Rickie Fowler, who will be in ­Australia for the World Cup in Melbourne the following week. However, it is understood they came up short, leaving Spieth and Scott to carry the load for tournament promoters as they look to capture the imagination of the Sydney sporting public.

Meanwhile, amateur Brett Coletta has continued his rampant form with a blistering start to the NSW Open at Stonecutters Ridge Golf Club in Sydney’s western suburbs.

Coletta, attempting to become the first player since Greg Norman in 1986 to win the Queensland-NSW Open double, surged to the lead after opening the tournament with a 10-under-par 62.

The 20-year-old resisted the urge to turn professional after his Queensland Open win and stands to miss out on a big cheque should he remain at the top of the leaderboard in coming days.

However, rather than missing out on a pay cheque, his only regret remains his misfortune at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, which he lost out to Luck, a result that cost him a place in the field for next year’s US Masters. “It’s a decision I’ve made and I’m 100 per cent backing my decision,” Coletta said of staying amateur.

“It’s the ultimate goal to play in a major. It’s definitely going to sting, but hopefully I get there one day in the near future.”

Coletta played the opening round of the NSW Open with Matt Millar and Robert Allenby, the latter firing an opening round two-under-par 70 as he fine-tunes his game in the lead-up to next week’s Open.

Allenby, coming off a difficult few years in the US, is using the NSW Open as a tune-up for an Australian summer which he hopes will reignite his career. ­Coletta is at the opposite end of his career, albeit having made an impressive start.

“It was all bit of a blur to start, all of a sudden I was seven-under through nine,” Coletta said.

“I played nearly almost flawless golf out there. I played exactly to my game plan.”