Jason Day will take a two-shot lead into the final round of The PGA Championship at Whistling Straits after what was one of the best days in recent Major Championship history.
Day celebrating one of his many birdie putts
The Aussie teed off alongside fellow countryman Matt Jones on 9-under-par in the final pairing and shot a 6-under-par round of 66 to take the overnight lead on 15-under-par. Day, who has had nine top-ten finishes in his last twenty Major Championships, made 8 birdies and an eagle during his 3rd round, and only took 25 putts on a day where everything seemed to drop for the world number 5. Day hit 11 out of 14 fairways and found 13 of the 18 greens in regulation, but his most impressive stat was the 11 one-putts he made.
Matt Jones, who was leading heading into the 3rd round shot a 1-over-par round of 73 and finds himself five shots off the lead heading into the final round.
Scoring on average was almost two shots better than the previous two days and Branden Grace and Martin Kaymer, who were paired together for the 3rd round, had a combined score of 15-under-par. Grace, who finished 2nd at the U.S Open at Chambers Bay in June holed out from the bunker at the 18th hole to post an 8-under-par round of 64, the best of the day. He will start the final round three shots back on 12-under-par. Kaymer, the 2010 PGA Champion, carded a 7-under-par round of 65 and will start his final round on 11-under-par.
Despite some brilliant 3rd round scores from the likes of Grace, Kaymer, Day and Rose, a lot of the headlines will go to Jordan Spieth. The two-time 2015 Major Champion was back to his brilliant best and a back-nine 30 helped him post a 7-under-par round of 65 which puts him alongside Jason Day in the final pairing on Sunday afternoon.
Spieth is looking to win his 3rd Major title in 2015
Spieth started the day on 6-under-par and when he birdied the first hole, you felt as if he could really make a push for the lead. However, he got a little frustrated over the front-nine holes and failed to convert birdie chances. That was until the 11th hole, when he rolled in a routine 10-footer to get back into the race. From there the 22-year-old made a further five birdies including three consecutive ones at 16, 17 and 18. Spieth enters the final day with a chance to etch his name in history and become one of the few players to win three Major titles in a single season.
Elsewhere on the course, there were birdies galore and some great scores. Phil Mickelson played some majestic shots in a 6-under-par round of 66 to post 5-under-par for the tournament and first round leader Dustin Johnson carded a respectable 4-under-par round of 68 to leave himself six shots back of Day. World number one Rory McIlroy made a scintillating start to his round, two birdies and an eagle in his opening five holes moved McIlroy onto 6-under-par early, but two bogeys at the 6th and 8th holes halted his momentum. Late birdies at the 16th and 18th resulted in a 4-under-par round of 68 for McIlroy, and he finds himself 6-under-par heading into the final day.
Justin Rose carries the weight of expectation for the British fans tomorrow once again after an up and down round of 68. Rose started the day on 8-under-par and an early birdie at the 1st was cancelled out with a poor double bogey at the 4th hole. However six birdies over the next thirteen holes pushed the Englishman up to 13-under-par heading down the 18th hole, but a loose second shot resulted in a bogey at the last. Rose will start his final round on 12-under-par and just the three shots behind Day.
Tomorrow we could see one of the greatest final rounds in Major Championship history, don’t miss it.
Selected final round tee times below (GMT)
19:45 pm- Jason Day (-15) & Jordan Spieth (-13)
19:36 pm- Branden Grace (12) & Justin Rose (-12)
19:27 pm- Tony Finau (-10) & Martin Kaymer (-11)
18:51 pm- Brooks Koepka (-7) & Brandt Snedeker (-7)
18:15 pm- Rory McIlroy (-6) & Charl Scwartzel (-6)
Tee Time 