Day battles elements to take a 2-shot lead
The words Jason Day has used all week at Bay Hill are what he gets from Tiger-Woods whenever they talk about playing with the lead.
Patience. Aggression. Extend the lead. And if you’re not on your game, post a good score.
It carried Day to a 2-underpar 70 in rough weather Saturday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, giving him a two-shot lead and one more day to show he’s a quick study. He has won the past three times he had at least a share of the 54-hole lead.
“It’s a different pressure, but it’s a good, uncomfortable feeling that I’ve always talked about, that I always want in my career,” Day said. “Because I know that if I’ve got that, I have a comfortable feeling that I’m doing it right. And usually, I’m around the lead.”
It wasn’t easy Saturday, even though tee times were moved forward because of a forecast of storms in the afternoon. That didn’t keep the rain from showing up, occasionally heavy, or temperatures from fluctuating and the wind from swirling.
Day stood at 15-under 201, two shots clear of Henrik Stenson (70), Troy Merritt (67) and Kevin Chappell (67). Justin Rose (71) and Derek Fathauer (69) were four shots behind.
Adam Scott, coming off backto-back victories on the Florida swing, hit his second shot into the water at the 18th and made triple bogey, posting a 70 to fall nine shots behind. Rory McIlroy shot 75 and was 16 shots behind. LPGA Tour: Sei Young Kim stumbled at the JTBC Founders Cup in Phoenix, handing the lead to Eun-Hee Ji and putting Stacy Lewis, Lydia Ko and many others in far better position than they expected.
Three strokes ahead after an eagle on the par-4 13th, Kim bogeyed the par-4 16th and par-3 17th and finished with a 2-under 70 to drop into a tie for second with Lewis (64) — a stroke behind Ji, who shot a 65 to reach 18-under 198 at Desert Ridge’s Wildfire Golf Club.
Jacqui Concolino (68) was two strokes back. The top-ranked Ko (64), Carlota Ciganda (64) and Paula Creamer (67) were another shot behind. Champions Tour: Scott Verplank shot another 6-under 66 for the second-round lead at the Tucson Conquistadores Classic. He led Jim Carter and Wes Short Jr. by a stroke. European Tour: SSP Chawrasia leads the Indian Open in New Dehli after a flawless thirdround 68 for a two-shot lead over Terry Pilkadaris (73) of Australia.