Wayward Day wins Wells Fargo title
charlotte — 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 by two strokes over Aaron Wise and Nick Watney, his second victory of the season.
After squandering a three-shot 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 One of the best wins I have ever had
Jason Day
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 17th, 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.
If Day was expecting a challenge from some of the other high-profile players in the field, it never came. Mickelson started firing at flags and made six birdies, but finished five shots back after a 69.
Rory McIlroy concluded an upand-down week with a 71 to finish at 3 under. Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas were one shot behind him. Tiger Woods was a non-factor, shooting 74 to finish 14 shots back. He failed to make a birdie in the final round of a tournament for the first time since 2014. “I didn’t putt well again,” Woods said. “The chances I did have, I missed them all.” —