Spieth gets a shot closer to Jones, trails by 3 at Australian Open

Jordan Spieth shot the best round of the day on Saturday at the Australian Open. However, his third-round, 4-under 67 at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney only pulled him a shot closer to leader and host club member Matt Jones.

Spieth is at 7-under 206, three shots behind Jones, who is seeking his first Australian Open title.

Recent Web.com Tour graduate Rhein Gibson is alone in third, two shots behind Spieth. First-round leader Lincoln Tighe and Aron Price are in fourth at 4 under par, while 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy is alone in sixth at 3 under.

Adam Scott, with a Saturday 68, got to red figures for the tournament and is part of a four-way tie for seventh at 1 under par.

The highlight of Spieth’s round was a hole-out eagle on the par-4 17th, which led into a birdie at the par-5 finisher to cap off a back-nine 31. Spieth’s 8-iron from 181 yards landed just short of the hole before bouncing a couple of times and then disappearing.

Spieth came out of the gate in sloppy fashion, making bogeys on three of the first four holes. He rallied for three birdies and a bogey in the final five holes of the side, fortunate to turn in just 1 over.

“It was obviously quite a fortunate break on the 17th to go in,” Spieth said. “And now I’m well in contention and in the last group, whether it’s three or four behind, it’s a lot better than I’d thought it would be after four holes.”

Jones looks forward to the challenge of taking on the world’s top-ranked player at his home course in an 18-hole showdown for his home country’s most important title.

“To go up against the number one in the world is going to be a lot of fun,” Jones said. He added, “Hopefully I haven’t peaked yet, I know I can hit it better than I did today and if I can get a few more putts we’ll have a good day tomorrow.”

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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