Jason Day takes two-shot lead over Jordan Spieth into final day of PGA Championship
Monday 17 August 2015 06:46, UK
Jason Day is in prime position to land his maiden major title after opening up a two-shot lead by the end of a memorable third day at the 97th PGA Championship.
But if the Australian is to make his major breakthrough after a series of near-misses, he will have to fend off history-chasing Jordan Spieth after the Masters and US Open champion carved up the back-nine at Whistling Straits to move ominously into outright second.
On a day of low scoring and golf of the highest quality in perfect conditions by the shores of Lake Michigan, Day's entertaining 66 earned him the 54-hole lead on 15 under par, while Spieth went one shot better after a sensational run of six birdies over the last eight holes.
Justin Rose is a further stroke adrift after recovering from a double-bogey at the fourth with six birdies, although he paid the price for coming up short of the green at the last and bogeyed to take the gloss off a 68.
Rose is tied on 12 under with Branden Grace, who fired a day's-best 64, and Martin Kaymer roared into contention with a flawless 65, but Rory McIlroy's hopes of retaining his title are almost over after a 68 left him nine strokes off the pace.
Halfway leader Matt Jones enjoyed a three-shot advantage after birdies at the first and sixth, but he bogeyed nine after driving into a hospitality tent before hitting back with birdies at 11 and 14 only to endure a tough finishing stretch with bogeys at 15 and 16 preceding a double-bogey at the 17th.
But his compatriot and playing partner Day was in all-out attack mode, mixing three birdies with two bogeys over the first five holes before making a significant move around the turn, picking up shots at nine and 10 before rolling in a 12-foot putt for eagle at the 11th.
Further birdies followed at 13 and 14, but his momentum stalled when he took two shots to escape a greenside bunker at the 15th and ran up a double-bogey six.
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Day responded by nailing a 25-foot putt for birdie at 17 which sparked one of the loudest cheers of the day from the appreciative galleries, who were still marveling at the brilliance of Spieth a few moments earlier.
Spieth on the charge
The relentless 22-year-old, bidding to become only the third player in history after Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods to win three majors in a calendar year, started with a birdie but then struggled to make much happen as he parred the next nine holes.
But the young Texan revived his quest for a place in the history books with three straight birdies from the 11th, and he peppered the pins with his approaches to the final three greens and picked up three more shots to cap a thrilling back-nine 30.
"I don't think it gets any easier but it does feel a bit different each time you go through it, you get a bit more comfortable," said Spieth, who finished a shot outside the play-off in the Open Championship last month.
Spieth's round was bettered by Grace, who cruised to the turn in 33 and added further birdies at 11, 12, 13 and 16, although his run looked like coming to an end when his approach to the last landed in a deep trap short of the green.
But his perfect splash out from the sand found the bottom of the cup for an unlikely closing birdie which briefly earned him the clubhouse lead over Kaymer, who revived memories of his 2010 win on the same course with five birdies in a back-nine 31 as he returned a 65 to get to 11 under.
Tony Finau got to 12 under before dropping shots at 16 and 17 to settle for a 69 which left him tied for sixth with Jones, while Dustin Johnson and Anirban Lahiri are one shot further adrift.
McIlroy had made an early appearance in the top 10 when he followed birdies at the second and fourth with a superb 65-foot putt for eagle at the fifth, but he missed the green with a wedge from the middle of the fairway at the sixth and bogeyed before dropping another shot at the tough eighth.
And a back-nine of four birdies and two bogeys saw him finish on six under for the tournament, leaving him with a mountain to climb to get himself into contention on Sunday.
