It was just a month ago when Jason Day had a baste taste in his mouth and a fire in his eyes when he exited the 18th green at St. Andrew’s. Day had just barely missed the three-way playoff of Zach Johnson, Marc Leishman, and Louis Oosthuizen (Johnson would go on to win) by just one stroke, and was still searching for his first major championship.
Search no more, Jason.
Day started off his tournament very modestly. He was two under par after 10 holes, then jump started his play with an eagle on the par five second.
From there, Day was on his game. He finished four under par on the first day, and five under par the second day. He was in perfect position going into ‘Moving Day’.
Saturday offered Day a memorable round to take him into Sunday. He started off with birdie, bogey, birdie, bogey, birdie, then par on the next three holes. He finished the front off with a birdie on nine to put him two under par.
The back nine was the turning point for Day. Despite an unfortunate double bogey on the 15th, Day finished four under par on the back, including an eagle on 11.
This put Day on top of the leaderboard with Jordan Spieth trailing by two strokes. The final pair were destined to put on a show the next day, and that they did.
Day would take an even bigger lead early in the round, as he would birdie four of the first seven holes. That gave him a cushion throughout the round, as neither Spieth, Justin Rose, nor Brooks Koepka could catch him.
He dominated the course, finishing at a major-record 20 under par for the tournament. It was a great moment for the Aussie as he finally joined the prestigious group of major winners by becoming the 2015 PGA Championship winner.
Spieth chased some of his own history as well. The two-time major winner had the best combined score at the four majors in one calendar year, breaking Tiger Woods’ record from 15 years ago. The 55 under par score Spieth put up featured contention in all four majors, and plenty of great moments.
It should also be noted that Spieth took over the No. 1 spot in the world ranking from Rory McIlroy after shooting 17 under par for the tournament, making him the second-youngest ever to hold the spot. McIlroy missed some time this year, though, and it is still very much a two-way race to get a real hold on that spot.
Rose and Branden Grace shot 15 under par to finish T-3rd, and Koepka shot six under par for the day to finish 13 under par for the tournament.
