Jason Day is back — pun intended.
The 27-year-old Australian, who won the PGA Championship two weeks ago and who struggled with an out-of-line disk in his back earlier this week, shot a blistering 7-under 63 on Saturday at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J., taking him to 11-under for the tournament and tying him for the lead at The Barclays going into Sunday’s final round.
“I didn’t expect to go out there and shoot 63,” Day said. “But at the end of the day, I just kept on pushing.”
Day was propelled all afternoon by his playing partner, South Korean Sang-Moon Bae, who matched the 63 and also got to 11-under, keeping the good vibes together for Sunday’s final group.
“Jason is a world-class player; really enjoyed his play,” said Bae, who will be chased on Sunday by a group at 10-under led by third-round leader Bubba Watson (10-under), followed closely by Ryan Palmer (9-under), Zach Johnson (9-under) and Henrik Stenson (9-under).
Day has struggled with his back for almost a full year now. He had to pull out of last September’s BMW Championship after it “locked up on him.” But since then, he was worked hard to build muscle, and has hardly had a problem since — especially not when he shot 20-under in the PGA at Whistling Straits and won his first major championship.
But after a week of media and sponsor tours, Day reached underneath his car on Tuesday to move a box and felt a sharp pain. He had to go for a MRI exam, and pulled out of Wednesday’s Pro-Am.
He regretted putting himself into such an awkward position, but as the temperature rose each day — it was sunny and climbed into the high-80s on Saturday — Day’s back loosened up.
“I love the heat,” he said. “It’s very stiff in the morning. But the back is kind of a non-issue. I mean, it’s a little tight, but when you have back spasms and everything kind of locks up, it’s kind of a granted that it’s going to be tight over the week.”
It took only one hole for Bae to inspire Day — and the rhyme of their names has been lost on no one. With a little wedge shot hit close for a birdie to open the round, Bae set the tempo. But Day got one of his own on the second, and through 15 holes, Day had made five birdies and no bogies. He then reached the par-5 16th in two shot, draining the 15-foot eagle putt to take the outright lead.
“To be able to have Sang-Moon get off to a good start, and he hit it great all day, we are all kind of feeding off each other, drafting off each other,” Day said. “He played some fantastic golf tee-to-green, very solid and had a good day on the greens, as well.”
The golf course was there for the taking in the morning, when Carlos Ortiz shot a tournament-best 8-under 62, and it was followed soon thereafter by Justin Rose shooting 7-under 63. It got Rose to 5-under for the tournament after a disastrous opening-round 77.
“You learn lessons sometimes,” Rose said. “It shows you’re never out of the tournament.”
It also showed Day and the players going out in the afternoon that the course was there for taking, and birdies were going to need to be made if they wanted to keep pace.
“I knew that the scores were out there, a lot more accessible pins out there, with how Rosey and Carlos Ortíz went out there and played,” Day said. “But it was a good day — good score for the moving day.”