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Jason Day will be number two in the world tomorrow after taking out the coveted Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill this morning.
‘The King’ was on hand to congratulate the gritty Australian after he fended off Kevin Chappell, Henrik Stenson, and Troy Merritt in a tense final day.
It started with Day on 15-under, with playing partner Merritt on 13-under, and the penultimate pairing of Stenson and Chappell also at 13-under.
Chappell, who hasn’t won on the USPGA tour, caught and passed Day with three birdies in his first six holes compared to Day’s three bogeys and two birdies.
Stenson, who has run second seven times in the last 18 months, was his usual steady self, as was Merritt – it was effectively a race in four.
There were many holes left when Chappell, Day, and Stenson shared the lead.
Day turned in even par with three bogeys and three birdies, having major problems spraying his irons.
Chappell turned in two-under with those three birdies and a bogey at the ninth.
Stenson turned in one-under with two birdies and a bogey, while Merritt seemed out of it after two doubles and two birdies to be two over.
But it was Merritt who first set the homeward nine alight with five successive birdies from the 10th, and that seemed to lift the other three.
It became a ding-dong battle between the quartet, watched by huge crowds that stretched from tee to green, even on the par fives.
By the 11th for Day, and 12th for Chappell, and Stenson, the trio were sharing 15-under, with Merritt closing.
The three leaders birdied their next holes to share 16-under, before Chappell birdied 16 for 17-under, and Day and Merritt remained 16-under through 15, while Stenson found water at 16 to drop out of contention at 14-under.
Then the pressure really surfaced – Day birdied 17, while Chappell bogeyed 18, and the Australian had sole possession of the lead.
Day parred the tough par four last from a back bunker 50 feet away, leaving himself a five-footer to become the first wire to wire winner of Arnold Palmer’s Invitational since Freddie Couples in 1992.
It has to be said that watching Jason Day under intense pressure is an uplifting experience, he seems to grow an extra leg as pressure mounts.
Think back to Greg Norman’s heyday, and watching the Shark bow under pressure destroyed the rest of your day, feeling for a good bloke.
But Jason Day is made of sterner stuff, and with the WGC Dell Match Play on this week with Day on duty,and the Houston Open next week, then it’s the US Masters, the first major of the year.
With Jason Day winning today, and Adam Scott winning two of his last three starts, the Aussies will be well represented with better than even chances at Augusta.
Scott would have been closer this week had it not been for a quadruple and a double bogey at the last over the weekend, ending up with 12-under, just five shots shy. He played excellent golf again today, barring at the last, but his game is still in great shape for Augusta in two weeks time.