Jason Day Wins PGA Championship and Collects First Major Win
By Matt Cochran
It’s seemed like he may never win his first major, but after a long journey Jason Day finally has that monkey off his back.
Day opened up his final round of the 97th PGA Championship with a two stroke lead over Jordan Spieth, who was his playing partner for the day. Unfortunately for the other golfers in the field, Day had his foot on the gas pedal and didn’t let up.
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The two made it interesting in the opening holes, starting with Jason Day’s birdie on the second hole, Spieth would follow up with a birdie of his own at the third to remain within two.
An unfortunate bogey on the fourth hole for Spieth made the lead three for Day, a lead he would continue to build on.
They would trade birdies on five and six, but Spieth would end up closing out his front nine with a bogey and finish with a 35, while Jason held on to go out with a 33.
As magical as Jordan was with the flat stick on Sunday, it just wasn’t enough to keep with Day. Whenever it looked like Spieth was going to close in on the Aussie, he would pull away.
Spieth made a birdie on 13 to close in within three strokes of the lead, but Jason made birdie on 14 to increase his lead back to four. It could have been worse for Spieth, who drained a 20 footer to save par and keep the lead at four.
With his birdie on the 14th hole, the Aussie became just the second player in major championship history to reach -20 at any point. The other person? A guy by the name of Tiger Woods at the 2000 Open Championship.
Day opened the door a little with a bogey on the 15th to drop the lead back down to three. He’d get it back, however, with a birdie on the 16th to get back to -20. Spieth would also birdie to get to -17 and keep the lead at three.
Both parred the 17th hole, giving Jason Day a three stroke lead entering the 18th hole.
With a confident drive off the tee, there wasn’t much that could get in the way of Jason Day’s first career major victory. Day knocked a 47 foot putt within inches and stepped away to allow Spieth to finish up.
Day marked his ball and the water works began, as he realized that he had won his first major championship and the 97th PGA Championship.
Game over, very happy for Jason. Great dude and well deserved. Hats off to Jordan, incredible season. Calling it early.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) August 16, 2015
Jason Day became the first golfer in history to finish a major championship with a score of -20, the fifth Australian player to win the PGA Championship, and the first Aussie to win a major since Adam Scott at the 2013 Masters.
Day’s major battle this season has been quite the frustrating one. His final round at the Masters included six bogeys as he dropped out of contention. His battle with vertigo at the U.S. Open dominated headlines, as he just couldn’t close it out and finished tied for 9th. Then there was The Open Championship where Day didn’t have a birdie in his final 12 holes and missed the three-hole playoff by one putt and tied for fourth.
I think Day will be the first to tell you that it’s been worth the wait.
With his solo second finish and Rory McIlroy’s solo 17th, Jordan Spieth becomes the newest number one golfer in the world. Spieth also finished his major season with a total score of -54 for the lowest in golf history, beating Tiger Woods’ record of -53 in 2000.
The major season is officially wrapped up and golf fans will have to wait until April 7th for another one. Until then, Jason Day will be able to rest easy knowing he has a major championship under his belt.