PARAMUS, New Jersey: Jason Day, proud of how he handled his nerves, rebounded from a double-bogey at the 13th with three birdies in the last four holes to grab a share of the lead after the third round of The Barclays yesterday.
The Australian signed off with a 10-foot birdie putt at the last to card a three-under 68 at Ridgewood Country Club, finishing level with American Jim Furyk (69) at nine-under 204 in the opener of the PGA Tour’s four-event FedExCup playoffs.
“I am very proud of how I handled my nerves today,” the 26-year-old Day, who lost a ball in thick rough after trying to lay up on the par-five 13th, told CBS Sports.
“With the double-bogey on the par-five, I could have lost it but I kind of stuck in there and played some good golf coming in.”
Hunter Mahan (68) was alone in third at eight under, a stroke in front of seven players who included fellow Americans Matt Kuchar (68) and Cameron Tringale (72), the latter having been tied for the second-round lead with Australian Adam Scott.
World number two Scott endured a frustrating day on the challenging A W Tillinghast layout where danger was ever present because of lush rough and slick greens, struggling to a 75 to slide five shots of the pace.
Top-ranked Rory McIlroy, on a sizzling three-tournament winning streak that included major triumphs at the British Open and PGA Championship, was level with Scott at four under after carding a 70. Day, who clinched his second PGA Tour victory at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in late February, was delighted to be in contention for another title after making a mess of both par-fives after the turn.
“I got off to a great start and then the back nine happened and the par-fives happened,” said the world number nine, who was one of seven players who held at least a share of the lead during the third round.
Day bogeyed the par-five 17th after ending up in a greenside bunker with his second shot, though he sandwiched that hiccup with birdies at the 15th, 16th and 18th.
While Day took a roller-coaster ride to the top of the leaderboard, PGA Tour veteran Furyk followed a very different route, staying patient as he ground out a flawless round that was highlighted by birdies at the 13th and 16th.
“Those holes, six through 12, are pretty difficult and I gave myself a lot of really good birdie opportunities through that stretch but wasn’t able to convert,” said the 44-year-old, FedExCup champion in 2010. “I really played patient today, bided my time and was able to make birdies on 13 and 16. It was a really solid round.”
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