GRAND BLANC, Michigan (Ticker) -- Having put more than 200,000 miles on his old recreational vehicle, unheralded Kent Jones is looking to upgrade to a new Buick.

Six months removed from his lone top-10 finish on the PGA Tour, Jones fired a 7-under-par 65 on Thursday to grab a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Buick Open.

Jones is the most non-descript name on a leaderboard that includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh.

"I kind of felt like it could happen," said Jones, who has missed the cut in half his 22 tournaments this season. "I mean, I had no idea it would be today, but I felt like I've been really close to playing well the last few weeks and not missing a couple cuts."

Jones, 35, collected seven birdies at the Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club for a one-shot lead over Mark Brooks and Korea's K.J. Choi.

Woods is among nine players who opened with 67s as he tunes up for next week's PGA Championship, the final major of the season.

"If I'm out there playing, I'm competing and trying to win this tournament, but right now, practice session-wise, I'll probably go out there and try and shape a few shots that I'll probably need for next week."

The chasm between Woods and Jones is prodigious. While Woods has 32 career PGA victories, Jones' lone top-10 finish came in the first week of February, when he tied for eighth at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

"I felt like I've been on the verge of playing well, and it seemed like today I finally made some putts," said Jones, a teammate of PGA Tour veteran Tim Herron at the University of New Mexico. "I kept the ball out of trouble for the most part."

Jones put more than 200,000 miles on his old RV while traveling with his wife and dog and playing the Canadian and Hooters Tours from 1993-95. He ended up selling it, but will win a new Buick LeSabre if he holds on to his lead.

In 1998, Jones was one stroke back through 36 holes here before tying for 12th place.

"I guess maybe because it's not so long," he said of his success at Warwick Hills. "You have to hit it pretty straight. If you're hitting it straight, I think anybody can play well here. I played well in '98. Also, I missed a couple of cuts here. So it's kind of hit or miss."

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