“I didn’t really give myself many chances and it was a little disappointing not to birdie the last, but such is life”. Rory McIlroy had an bad day without even making a birdie while putting for four bogeys.
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Day made one last bold run for glory with a rifled approach from 235m to within 4m for eagle on the last hole and turned up the heat with a flawless putt that sent Walker’s mind into overdrive after he’d taken an iron for safety off the tee.
“It’s exciting to be in this position”, Day said.
His first birdie of the day came via a chip in from outside the green, just as it was looking like Day was gathering momentum to overtake the American. He had enough strength left to hoist the 37-pound Wanamaker Trophy.
“Makes me feel awesome”. That really put it on me to make a par – and pars are hard sometimes.
Masters champion Danny Willett closed with a level-par 70 to finish five over, as did Wales’ Bradley Dredge, while England’s Lee Westwood finished with a double-bogey seven on the last in a round of 75 to finish seven over. Walker at least had time to rest in his travel bus – he is a frequent neighbor of Day on the Tour – and get right back out into the final round.
Day had bogeyed the first and third to fall three shots back, but recovered with birdies on the fifth and ninth, while Stenson had picked up a single shot on the sixth.
And even then, Walker took it to the last possible second with a rock-solid par putt from just inside 1m in fading light to end a marathon final day of 36 holes.
“Great stuff, mate”, he told Walker.
“I think it was a pretty natural fit when it came time to get back out on tour and play and stuff like that”, Sanders said. “But obviously, Jimmy just played too good all day”.
South Africa’s Branden Grace added his name to the list of contenders for the final major of the year as the weather-affected US PGA Championship headed towards a tense climax.
The pairings for the final round will be the same as Round 3, starting from the first tee. That means players will be able to lift, clean and place their balls anywhere but the rough.
But it ended on a happy note for Walker.
FOUR MAJORS, FOUR first-time winners in 2016. The victory moved him from No. 29 to No. 4 in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings, all but assuring him a spot on this year’s team.
He then pitched in from a bunker on the 10th for a birdie and followed that with a 30-foot putt on the next to get to 13 under.
As much as golf people see Day as a rising star who is bound to win multiple Grand Slam tournaments – a reasonable assumption that this observer agrees with – there are no guarantees.
“There’s a lot of emotions on out there, I’m not going to lie to you”, he said.
Walker led from wire-to-wire and got the job done on a long day in which he, Day and Stenson had to play 36 holes, finishing round three in the morning and coming back for more in the afternoon.
The Swedish Open Championship victor carded a one-over 71 in the final round at Baltusrol on Sunday to be tied for seventh.
“I think this 67 was better than the previous two so I just hope I can pick up some timing with my long game”.
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For the second straight major, this became a duel over the final hour. He was just about to pull the putter back on his 12-footer Saturday when officials sounded the horn requiring all play be stopped.
