Matt Jones wins Honda Classic by 5 strokes

Matt Jones wins Honda Classic by 5 strokes

Matt Jones has finally ended his 7-year drought for a PGA Tour title with victory at Honda Classic on Sunday.

Jones, who finished his campaign at an incredible 12-under-268, collected his second trophy on the PGA Tour after a long wait of seven years in Florida.

Jones started the week with a course-record-tying round of 9-under 61. He was three shots behind Aaron Wise after a second-round 70 at the halfway stage, and his round of 69 on Saturday was good enough to put him up by three entering Sunday.

The 40-year-old led by three going into the final round has extended his advantage to secure his first PGA Tour title since 2014.

Brandon Hagy (66) finished 7-under to secure runner-up postion, while Chase Seiffert (64), Brendan Steele (65), C.T. Pan (70), Denny McCarthy (67) and Russell Henley (68) tied for third at 6 under.

The win not only lands Jones a whopping $1.6 million payout, but his world ranking jumped from 65th to 11th and will earn him an invite to next month's Masters.

“It means the world. Seven years between wins, it‘s been a battle,” Jones said after his closing round 68 which secured the five-shot win, the equal-biggest margin in the tournament’s history.

“It‘s phenomenal and hopefully it’s something I can build on for the rest of the year.”

The victory also marked the 33rd consecutive year an Australian has won on the PGA Tour, the longest winning streak for any country other than the US.