Day races night for some extra rest to help PGA title bid
DAY CHARGES AS WELL Long after 25th-ranked Kisner reached the clubhouse with his second consecutive 67, players once fearful of lightning-fast greens attacked the dampened putting surfaces after the delay and soared up the leaderboard.
“When we got delayed, the whole course changed with regards to how receptive it was,” Day said.
Day, also on a run of three consecutive birdies after a tap-in eagle at seven when the delay came, found trees off the tee and a bogey at 11 when play resumed, but bounced back with a 46-foot birdie putt at 13 and a 12-footer at 14.
“Eagling 7 and having three birdies after that was nice,” Day said. “It’s just unfortunate because I was actually in a rhythm and the momentum was going my way and we got called off.”
Day ran between shots from the 17th first SPIETH, MCILROY WELL BACK
Fourth-ranked Rory McIlroy fired his second consecutive 72 to stand 10 shots adrift. He made four bogeys in five holes on the front side, then answered with birdies at the par-5 seventh and par-4 eighth.
“Anything under 71 today is a good score,” McIlroy said before the rain. “It’s amazing how they have been able to make this course so much tougher.”
World number two Jordan Spieth, who won the British Open last month, is chasing his fourth career major title and completion of a career Grand Slam at age 24, but closed with a bogey to shoot 73 and stand 11 strokes off the pace. “It was more gettable after the rain delay than it was before, no doubt.” CHARLOTTE: Jason Day raced nightfall to finish his second round on Friday at the PGA Championship and enjoy a long night’s sleep, wrapping his arms around top-ranked Dustin Johnson for making it possible.
Seventh-ranked Day, the Australian star who won the 2015 PGA and was runner-up last year, parred the final hole with help from electronic scoreboard lights to fire a five-under par 66 and stand third on six-under 136, two behind co-leaders Hideki Matsuyama and Kevin Kisner.
Thanks to a storm delay of almost two hours, there were 25 players who weren’t so lucky and have to return on Saturday morning to complete their final holes. But Day isn’t among them thanks to some sprinting over the last two holes and Johnson’s willingness to race ahead and quickly hit a tee shot at 18, enabling the entire group to finish.
When Day caught up to the lanky American, he gave a hug of pure joy and gratitude.
“On 17 I was off the green. And we were walking up, and we were talking about, ‘If we can get a tee shot on 18, we could finish the round.’ And DJ is like, ‘I’ll do it.’ And I’m like, ‘That’s great,’” Day said.
“He ran out there and teed off. As soon as he teed off, you know, we all kind of flushed it down 18. And I just walked up to him and said, ‘That’s the biggest, most clutch thing I’ve ever seen anyone do for me.’”
Extra rest and sleep could enable a charge such as Day enjoyed on Friday, when he eagled the par-5 seventh and birdied five of the next seven holes.
“I had to give him a hug for it,” Day said. “He was happy as well. Obviously to be able to finish and not have to wake up at 5:30 tomorrow, get some rest, because it is hot out there and it does take it out of you... it really does (feel great) to be able to get that extra sleep and relax a little bit in the afternoon.”
Day has raced darkness to finish friendly rounds in his youth, never dreaming it was training for one of the biggest events of them all.
“I do remember finishing in the dark a lot when I was a kid, not thinking that it was going to be I was running down the 18th hole at a major championship,” Day said.
And he enjoyed being in the spotlight on 18, the glow of lights helping him see well enough to close with a par.
“There’s this big, massive screen on 18 which lit up the whole putting green. So it was kind of like you’re playing under the lights, which was nice,” Day said.
“It looked like we were playing in daylight. It was really dark out there. We were kind of slow the whole day and we played really fast the last two holes.
“Thinking about it, if I went bogey, bogey, I’d be very devastated right now sitting here. But at the end of the day, I finished strong with two pars. Just missed a birdie on 18. So very pleased with how I played.”