Jason Day holds off Jordan Spieth to win PGA Championship
Australian professional golfer Jason Day finally won his first PGA Championship on Monday at Whistling Straits after falling short in the US Open and British Open. Day finished a score of 20-under par to hold off Jordan Spieth by three strokes, denying the American golfer of winning three majors in one season.
Day, who has established himself as one of the best players on the PGA Tour, grabbed his first career major victory after keeping Spieth and a handful of challengers at bay in the PGA Championship. The 27-year-old Day has been incredibly consistent in 22 career starts at the major, with seven top-5 finishes and 10 appearances in the top 10.
Day, a fan favourite in the PGA Tour because of his play and personality, became the first professional golfer ever to finish 20-under par at a major and the first Australian to win the PGA title since Steve Elkington in 1995. The Aussie golfer had struggled in each of this year’s US Open and British Open. He began the final round of the previous two majors sharing the 54-hole lead, but fell short at both competitions. Day came up short at Chambers Bay after battling a bout of vertigo, while losing out a playoff chance at the British open after missing a birdie putt on the 18th green.
Day entered the final round with a two-shot lead over Spieth, aggressively taking birdies on the second, fifth, sixth and seventh holes. Day retained a three-stroke lead over Spieth and other challengers all throughout the afternoon, firing a final-round 67 at the course.
Day sealed his victory on the 18th hole after tapping in a putt for par. He briefly raised his arms skyward before breaking down in tears, hugging his caddie Colin Swatton. Aside from the Wanamaker Trophy, Day also took home the first-place cash prize of US$1.8 million (AU$2.4 million), reports SB nation.
Meanwhile, Spieth missed the chance to join Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to win three majors in one season. The American golfer, who finished with a final round 68, took the No. 1 spot from Rory McIlroy in the world golf rankings after a second place finish in the PGA Championship.
“It would have been really cool, the history part of it,” Spieth said, reports The Wall Street Journal. “But at the same time when you look back, that’s a major that I had control of that I let slip away, which is the second one that I’ve done so.”
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