US PGA: Day’s date with destiny

BY JOHN HUGGAN AT WHISTLING STRAITS

With 18-holes to play, his name is atop the leader board at Whistling Straits, just as it was at Chambers Bay and St. Andrews in the two most recent major championships. Two shots clear of the inevitable Jordan Spieth, Jason Day will surely be hoping the 97th USPGA Championship doubles as third time lucky in his search for a maiden Grand Slam title.

“I’ve been here before,” he said. “I know what to expect. I haven’t won before so that’s something that will hopefully be a new experience for me.”

Jason Day pumps up the crowd after rolling in a birdie at the 17th hole. PHOTO: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

And if that optimism isn’t already promising enough, the 27-year old Queenslander is also displaying no symptoms of the vertigo that so plagued his challenge for the US Open two months ago. This time, it looks like he will have a head for heights.

Day narrowly misses his birdie attempt on the 18th green. PHOTO: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images.

There were certainly few signs of weakness during a third round 66 that took Day to 15-under-par for the week and meant he will be paired with Spieth in the final round. It is quite a prospect. As Day goes for his first major victory, the 22-year old Texan will be chasing history. Should he emerge victorious, Spieth will be the first golfer ever to complete the so-called “American slam” – Masters, US Open and USPGA – in the one calendar year.

ALSO: Leaderboard | Day 3 Image Gallery |

“It should be an exciting round tomorrow,” Day said. “I’m really looking forward to it. But today was a good day. I hit a lot of quality iron shots and I’m very pleased with how I’m putting.”

Both attributes were never more in evidence than at the penultimate hole, an evil 223-yard par-3 where a miss left is ‘dead’ and one to the right not much better, let’s say ‘seriously injured’. Standing on the tee having just made a double-bogey that instantly halved his four-shot lead, Day struck a beautiful 4-iron into the middle of the elusive putting surface, then holed from 20 feet or so for a most welcome birdie. The loud roar he emitted as the ball disappeared showed how much it meant.

“I had a feeling I was going to hole that putt,” he said. “I knew I had to let my emotions out. If I had held it in, I would have been too tense going to 18. It calmed me down going into the drive and the second shot as well. That’s the stuff I need to do tomorrow. If Jordan goes out and wins by putting really well, then he will deserve it. But I’m going to give him a fight.”

Day watches his tee shot on the 16th hole, where he would finish with a double bogey. PHOTO: David Cannon/Getty Images.

Alongside Day’s obvious sense of anticipation, there was a mixture of disappointment and defiance from his compatriot, Matt Jones. Two shots off the lead standing on the 15th tee, the 35-year old Sydneysider contrived to drop four shots over the closing holes. He will thus have a five-shot deficit to battle, as well as any feeling that his chance of victory has already gone.

“I’m still in it,” was his initial reaction after completing a one over 73. “I’m definitely not out of it. But I will have to shoot a very good round tomorrow.

“My swing got a little loose coming down the stretch. And I missed a few putts.”

Matt Jones plays his second shot from the carpet of a hospitality tent on the 9th hole. PHOTO: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

Ah, but there was one moment of levity amidst the serious business. After badly pulling his drive off the 9th tee, Jones found his ball high above the fairway in a hospitality unit. With the free-drop option not the most attractive – he would have had to hit from longish grass off a severe down-slope – Jones chose to play the ball as it lay off the tight blue carpet. He didn’t hit the green, but the bogey he ended up with could have been far worse.

“Actually, I was happy where the ball was,” he said with a smile. “And I hit a very good shot on the line I picked. I just picked the wrong line.”

WATCH: Matt Jones' hospitality tent shot | Jason Day makes birdie at 17

Jones, who had a front row seat to Day’s third round display, said his young mate is going to be hard to beat and once he finally wins, more majors will follow.

“It's always fun playing with Jason,” Jones said. “He's playing great. He's going to be very tough to beat tomorrow, the way he's putting, as well. Best of luck to him.

“It (Day winning a major) will happen when it happens. And when it does, there will probably be a lot of them come. I see top-10 in every major. Once he gets his first one, just like Phil, Phil went on a run, and I can see that happen with Jason. He'll win five or six pretty quick.”

Jordan Spieth pumps the air after holing his birdie putt on the 18th green. It was his sixth birdie for the nine. PHOTO: Jamie Squire/Getty Images.

As for the only other Australian to survive the halfway cut, Cameron Smith shot 70 and sits on four under par. It could and should have been better though. A double-bogey on the 18th wiped the smile off the usually amiable Smith’s face, his ball swiftly deposited in the water fronting the green only seconds after a putt for bogey had lipped agonisingly out of the cup.