PINEHURST, N.C. – Ricky Jones of Thomaston improved his position Tuesday in the U.S. Amateur golf tournament but still missed qualifying for the match-play competition which starts today.

Jones, a four-time winner of the Whited Ford Paul Bunyan Amateur Golf Tournament, posted a 3-over-par 73 Tuesday on the No. 4 course at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club for a two-day total of 149. That left Jones tied for 161st out of a field of 312. The top 64 players advanced to match play. That cut came at 5-over-par 145.

For the second straight day, a triple bogey seriously hurt Jones’ chance of making it into match play, which he did qualify for in last year’s Amateur.

Starting on the 10th hole, Jones parred the first two, then birdied the 186-yard par-3 12th. But he bogeyed the next three, then suffered three more bogeys in a row on 18, 1 and 2.

His triple bogey came on the 193-yard, par-3 fourth hole, putting him at 8 over for the day.

Jones, a two-time Maine Amateur champ and the 2006 Maine Open winner, then heated up. He birdied Nos. 5 and 7, eagled the 404-yard, par-4 eighth and finished with a birdie on 9.