07/03/96 - 10:22 PM ET - Click reload often for latest version

Jones in the right place at the right time

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - "He's been there before" is one of sports' most tiresome cliches and is repeated ad nauseam during major golf championships. Experience is supposed to be like an extra club, so valuable in pressure situations.

If that's true, why is it Sam Snead never won a U.S. Open? And why hadn't the last five winners, starting with Tom Kite in 1992, won a major championship previously?

Isn't the Open supposed to be the ultimate tournament, the toughest championship to win? Then how in the name of Bobby Jones did Kite, Lee Janzen, Ernie Els, Corey Pavin and Steve Jones win the last five without the advantage of a previous victory in a major championship?

With the exception of Els, the '94 Open champion, previous winners were back in the pack Sunday at Oakland Hills Country Club, along with reigning champions from other majors: Nick Faldo, Steve Elkington and John Daly.

Still, all the ingredients were on the table Sunday for the long-expected breakthrough by Colin Montgomerie, Davis Love III or Tom Lehman. All had "been there before."

Montgomerie, No. 2 in the Sony World Rankings, had lost playoffs at the '94 Open and '95 PGA Championship. Certainly, he could handle pressure.

Love and Lehman were due. Love, 32, was second, fourth and seventh in majors the last two years. Lehman, 37, has been on the brink with a second and a third at The Masters and a third at the '95 Open.

So who survives the carnage of the diabolical 18th hole? Jones, who hadn't won since the 1989 Canadian Open, a guy with no predigree who had played in only three U.S. Opens.

"I don't care how much preparation you have or how many goals you set, there is no guarantee you will ever win a U.S. Open," Jones said. "A lot of people can attest to that. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time."

Jones was in the wrong place at the wrong time one November afternoon in 1991 at Phoenix. He was riding his dirt bike, as he had hundreds of times. But this day, his friend, riding in front of him, hit a pothole and spun out of control. When Jones tried to swerve to avoid hitting his buddy, his wheels went out from under him. He flew over the handlebars.

"It was weird," Jones recalled. "Oh, I was skinned and bruised, but the only thing that really got hurt was the ring finger on my left hand."

He actually dislocated his left shoulder and sprained his right ankle, too, slamming the brakes on a promising career. Jones had won three times in '89 and was 54th on the '91 PGA Tour money list with four top-10 finishes.

After the bumps and bruises healed, frustration set in. He couldn't grip a club properly. He was healthy. He felt fine. But when he tried to swing a golf club, pain streaked up his arm.

"Every time I tried to come back, I'd reinjure my finger," he said. "I went to see a lot of doctors and no one really knew what was wrong or how long it would take.

"Finally, after 10 months, I went to see John Cook's doctor in Palm Springs, and he told me because it was ligament damage, I couldn't rush it or I'd keep making it worse.

"It took 21/2 years, and I had to change my grip before I could start playing tournaments. I played two at the end of '94 and then last year I was back full-time."

Jones gave no indication he was ready to win golf's biggest prize. He had missed the cut in four of his last six tournaments and had to survive a playoff in sectional qualifying near Columbus, Ohio, just to earn a spot at Oakland Hills.

A big reason for his success Sunday was his precision off the tee. A long hitter, No. 7 on Tour averaging 279 yards, Jones missed only one fairway.

Accuracy under pressure. The sign of an experienced competitor, one "who has been there."

Maybe not. Maybe, as Jones said, he just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

By Steve Hershey, USA TODAY

Seek and ye shall find | Alta Vista