SHEBOYGAN, WI — With six consecutive 3s on his card, Jason Day looked determined as ever Saturday to finally get his first victory in a major. He shot a 6-under-par 66 at Whistling Straits and built a two-shot lead at the 97th PGA Championship, the third consecutive major he’s had at least a share of the lead going into the final round.
One look at the leaderboard at the name right behind him — Jordan Spieth — made it clear Sunday won’t be easy for Day.
Spieth was five shots behind and had two holes to play when he capped off a stunning charge along the back nine at Whistling Straits with six birdies over his last eight holes, including three in a row at the end that gave him a 7-under 65 to get into the final group.
“Very pleased to have a chance to win another major,” said Spieth, a 22-year-old Texan.
Spieth is trying to join Tiger Woods (2000) and Ben Hogan (1953) as the only players to win three majors in one year, and Spieth hopes to rely on his experience of having already won the Masters and U.S. Open this season.
Day showed plenty of moxie, though.
After making a double bogey that cut his lead to one shot, and then failing to birdie the par-5 16th, he poured in a 25-foot birdie putt and pumped both arms to show how much it meant.
“One more day left,” Day said before heading off to the practice range before the sun set on this wild day along Lake Michigan. “I got to keep pushing forward, keep grinding, keep doing the best I can out there and see how it goes Sunday.”
Saturday featured abundant sunshine and endless action, starting in the dead calm of the morning when Matt Jones finished the storm-delayed second round with two birdies for a two-shot lead. In the hunt at a major for the first time, Jones kept his cool even when his drive landed in a hospitality tent left of the ninth fairway and he chose to play off the blue carpet, over the white fence and just off the green.
But he imploded at the end, dropping four shots over the last four holes for a 1-over 73.
Day looked like he was headed in that direction. One moment it looked as though the 27-year-old Australian was pulling away. The next minute, he was pulling himself together.
He played a sizzling six-hole stretch around the turn in 6-under, which included a 15-foot eagle at No. 11 for his first lead of the round. When he stuffed another approach close on the 14th hole for a birdie, he was at 16-under.
One swing changed everything.
Day tugged a 5-iron into a bunker left of the 15th green and was surprised by the amount of sand. The first shot didn’t make it up the slope and rolled back into the sand, and Day wound up with a double bogey right about the time Spieth shifted into another gear.
Spieth was trying to stay close enough to have a chance Sunday. The volunteers were slow to post Day’s double bogey on the large leaderboard on the 18th green, which Spieth couldn’t help but notice as he lined up his 7-foot putt.
“I saw Jason was at 16- under and I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. When is he going to slow down?’ ” Spieth said. “I saw that he was 16-under with four holes to go, thinking he could get to 17 (under pretty easily). I need to make this to have a chance within four of the lead. And then I think he’s dropped a couple of shots since then. But I did all I could do to finish off the round.”
Day did his part, even after failing to make a birdie on the par-5 16th. Instead of getting down, he hit a 4-iron within 25 feet of the 17th hole and rolled in the birdie. He was at 15-under 201.
Still in the mix: Martin Kaymer, who shot a 7-under 65 and was four shots behind. Kaymer won the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits five years ago.
