Day seizes control at Quail Hollow, holds 2-stroke lead

Jason Day sputtered at the start and finally hit his stride for a 4-under 67 to build a two-shot lead going into the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship and a chance for his second victory this year.

Peter Uihlein, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy all showed early Saturday that it was a softer, gentler Quail Hollow under an overcast sky in Charlotte, N.C. Uihlein had a 62, one off the course record, and finished before the leaders began the third round. He remained atop the leaderboard until midday through the round.

Mickelson had a 64, his lowest score of the season. McIlroy had to settle for a 66.

Day blasted a 9-iron out of the left rough with the wind at his back from 195 yards to 18 inches on No. 9 for his first birdie, and he was on his way. He had five birdies over the last 10 holes, and he made a daring par on the 18th. With his bare feet in the stream and the ball on the bank well above his feet, he hit a full shot to the back of the green for a twoputt par.

Day was at 10-under 203. Nick Watney overcame a double bogey on the par-5 10th hole with four birdies over his last six holes for a 66. He will be in the final group for the first time in nearly four years as he tries to win for the first time since a back injury two years ago.

Tiger Woods failed to take advantage of a course that was 228 yards shorter and soft enough that the players actually found pitch marks on the greens. Woods finally got going on the back nine with three straight birdies, but a three-putt bogey on the final hole gave him a 68. He was nine shots behind.

Peter Malnati’s 36-hole lead didn’t last long. He had a pair of double bogeys, shot 75 and fell seven shots behind.

PGA Tour rookie Aaron Wise nearly had a collapse late until he salvaged a most unlikely bogey. Wise, the NCAA champion from Oregon two years ago, pulled his approach left of the 18th green. It bounded over the stream to the other side. With his ball on a sharp downslope a few feet from the rock-framed banks of the stream, he considered a penalty drop that would have taken double bogey out of the picture. Instead, he tried a flop shot and his wedge slid under the ball for a whiff.

He hit the next one across the green to 40 feet, and knocked that in for bogey. Two bogeys over the last three holes gave him a 70.

LPGA: Sung Hyun Park and Jenny Shin finished the rain-delayed first round of the abbreviated LPGA Texas Classic with 6-under 65s to share a one-stroke lead in The Colony, Texas. After Thursday’s play was canceled and Friday’s began after an 8½-hour rain delay, the tournament was reduced from 72 holes to 36.

The second round began Saturday afternoon before the first round ended. Park and Shin were scheduled to start their final rounds Sunday afternoon.

Champions: Bernhard Langer plodded his way to an even-par 72, good enough to maintain the lead at the Insperity Invitational in The Woodlands, Texas. Langer was at 9-under 135 and had a one-shot lead over three players.