Day captures second win of season with average play

Jason Day fought through some wayward tee shots and his own self-doubt to shoot a 2-under 69 on Sunday and win the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C., by two strokes over Aaron Wise and Nick Watney, his second victory of the season.

After squandering a threeshot lead on the back nine, Day’s tee shot on the difficult 230-yard par-3 17th hole crashed into the pin and settled less than 3 feet away. He made the putt to take a two-shot lead, becoming the only player to birdie the hole in the final round.

Day finished at 12-under 272.

“One of the best wins I have ever had,” said Day, who never felt on top of his game on Sunday.

He missed more than half the fairways — including an ugly hook into the water on the par-4 14th — hit just eight greens in regulation and made four bogeys on the day. But he toughed it out on the final three holes at Quail Hollow nicknamed the “Green Mile,” playing them in 2 under.

“You play sit there and play mental games with yourself, subconsciously saying, ‘You can’t do this. You’re going to fail, you’re going to fail,’ ” Day said. “I just kept on saying to myself, ‘Forget about it and keep pushing. ’ ”

Day fell back into a tie with Wise after back-to-back bogeys on 13 and 14, but regained the lead by draining a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 16th.

That set up the shot of the tournament on the 17 th, a hole with water short, left and long of the green that gave players fits all day because the putting surface was so firm that it was tough to stop the ball.

Day caught his break when the ball bounced four times and hit the flagstick, drawing a huge roar from the crowd.

Adam Hadwin (72) of Abbotsford, B.C., was the low Canadian, tying for 16th at 3 under. Corey Conner (72) of Listowel, Ont., tied for 42nd at 1 over and Mackenzie Hughes (73) of Dundas, Ont., tied for 59th at 3 over.

Sung Hyun Park chipped in from behind the green for birdie on the final hole for a 5-under 66 and a one-shot victory in the LPGA Texas Classic, a tournament cut to 36 holes because of rain.

This was her first victory of the year, and she was the 11th winner in 11 tournaments on the LPGA Tour this year.