Jones, a tour golfer with a very modest record, hardly entered the tournament in glorious form.

He had missed the cut in four of his previous six events, but remained full of confidence.

"I'm real streaky. I don't get into contention that often, but when I'm playing well, I think I can beat anybody. I've proved that," he later said.

Jones' form was more patchy than streaky, with just one tour victory to his name before the US Open triumph at Oakland Hills.

But a four-round total of two-under-par was enough to take Jones into the record books, ahead of such luminaries as Tom Lehman and Davis Love III.

Jones' story before and after that win is fairly remarkable.

In 1991, while riding his dirt bike with a friend, his bike flipped, leaving Jones with a dislocated shoulder and injured left finger.

The injury kept the born-again Christian out of the game for 30 months and changed his approach to the game radically.

To ensure his comeback had any effect, Jones changed his grip, wrapping his left index finger over his the small finger on his right hand.

After a promising, but not sensational 1995 season, few believed that he could have much impact at Oakland in 1996, especially given that he was 37.

But once he had negotiated qualifying for the second Major of the season - qualifiers have to come through 36 holes - the rest was history.