Date: June 30, 2008
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Jones soars to best finish

Australian rookie Matt Jones equalled his best-ever finish on the PGA Tour after tying for fourth place at the Buick Open. The 28-year-old, who came into the tournament after missing his last six cuts, fired a closing five-under 67 to finish at 17-under, two shots behind American Kenny Perry. Perry&aposs final-round 66 was enough for a one-stroke win over compatriots Woody Austin and Bubba Watson. It was the second win of the season for the 47-year-old, who also won the Memorial and is now making a march toward a berth on the US Ryder Cup team, which will take on Europe in September at Valhalla in Perry&aposs home state of Kentucky. “I had multiple wins in &apos03, &apos05 and &apos08 – my forties have been pretty good for me,” Perry said. Watson missed a 12-foot birdie putt on 18 that would have forced a play-off, while 1995 winner Austin made a move with three straight birdies starting on 12 and then got to 20 under with a birdie at the 16th. Nursing a one-stroke lead with two holes to play, Austin finished bogey-bogey and dropped into a tie for second with Watson at 18-under. Jones&apos previous best result was a tie for fourth at the Honda Classic in March. Fellow Aussie Brett Rumford took a share of 12th place at 14-under, while Rod Pampling was a stroke further back at minus 13 and Stephen Leaney finished at 10-under. Overnight leader Daniel Chopra had a disastrous three-over 73 to drop into a share of 17th place. Final Round Scores from the Buick Open -19: Kenny Perry 69 67 67 66 -18: Woody Austin 66 67 69 68, Bubba Watson 67 67 68 68 -17: Bob Tway 68 71 67 65, Ken Duke 69 66 69 67, Matt Jones (Australia) 70 63 71 67 -16: Brian Gay 69 68 70 65, Lucas Glover 70 66 69 67 -15: John Rollins 72 64 72 65, Frederik Jacobson 68 66 72 67, Dudley Hart 64 68 70 71 -14: Kevin Streelman 70 68 70 66, Brett Rumford (Australia) 70 69 67 68, Michael Letzig 69 67 69 69, Corey Pavin 64 74 67 69, Briny Baird 65 71 68 70 -13: Robert Garrigus 69 69 72 65, Charles Howell 111 71 66 71 67, Glen Day 72 69 66 68, Scott Verplank 68 72 66 69, Rod Pampling (Australia) 71 69 65 70 Also: -10: Stephen Leaney (Australia) 67 70 70 71 -8: Peter Lonard (Australia) 70 68 72 69 -7: Nick O Hern (Australia) 68 72 70 71, Mark Hensby (Australia) 71 68 69 73 -6: Tim Wilkinson (New Zealand) 71 70 71 70 -5: Gavin Coles (Australia) 71 69 68 75 -4: Matthew Goggin (Australia) 68 72 73 71