Instead of getting down, he hit 4-iron into 25 feet on the 17th hole and rolled in the birdie.
This year, Day has had a share of the lead heading into the final round of both the U.S. Open and the Open Championship only to finish T9 and T4 respectively, however, the world number five is adamant something is different in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
The 22-year-old is attempting to become only the third man, after Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan, to win three majors in a calendar year. And guess whose lurking in second place only two strokes off the lead?
On Saturday, Whistling Straits featured optimum scoring conditions. He opened with a 77 and still was 3 over when he reached the back nine.
David Lingmerth of Sweden was the leader in the clubhouse when play was halted at 7 under par, but Australians Jason Day and Matt Jones were atop the leaderboard at 9 under and Justin Rose of England was one behind.
Branden Grace of South Africa, tied for the lead with three holes to play in the U.S. Open when he hit a tee shot out-of-bounds onto the train tracks at Chambers Bay, holed a bunker shot for birdie on the 18th hole for a 64.
Day and Spieth are scheduled to tee off in the final pairing Sunday at 2:45 p.m. ET.
Jordan Spieth, looking to carve out one more slice of golf history at this week’s PGA Championship, delivered a special performance to move into contention before the second round was suspended late on Friday. The second round will resume at 7am Saturday morning followed by round three.
But with just one more birdie on the front nine, the chasing pack was soon looming large in Jones’ rear-view mirror. Of the 26 players who have previously shot a round of 63 in a major championship, five have gone on to win. An eagle on 11 took him into the outright lead. After a birdie at No. 13 – the last of three straight – he said thought he might shoot 27 on the back.
“I remember telling (caddie) Michael (Greller) we’ve got birdie opportunities on this side, so let’s try to get to three to get to 10 under”, Spieth said. I made a couple of putts today. I’ve put myself in the position, so the only thing I have to change is the end result. “I could only make a birdie chance one time”. My score did not reflect the way that I was playing. Spieth said he had talked to local caddies and learned that the bunker he hit into always had more sand than others on the course. When is he going to slow down? “We’ll see what they bring, it’s just about trying to limit the mistakes”. He felt they were going to make it. And then he spoke.
The star of the day was Iwata, a 34-year-old from Japan who had every reason to think his first appearance in the PGA Championship would be a short one.
Woods finished at 19 under when he won the 2000 British Open at St. Andrews.
“Five years ago, I think I was 5 or 6 shots behind after the third day, and all of a sudden I was leading after six holes (on Sunday)”, said the big German. But he later told reporters he hasn’t given up on claiming another grand slam title. “I haven’t won before, so that’s something that is possibly a new experience for me tomorrow”. He’s at even par after two rounds.