After 19 starts, nine top-tens, six top-fives, and three second-place finishes, it seems as if Jason Day would never have his fair shot at having his name engraved on a major championship trophy. But today, that all changed at Whistling Straits; seemingly pulling himself away from the golfers who could’ve caught him, but by the end of the tournament, Day had his moment at the 2015 PGA Championship.
The 28-year-old shot a final round of 67 that included seven birdies and two bogeys, winning by three shots over Jordan Spieth. Day becomes the fifth Aussie to win the PGA Championship and the first major champion since Adam Scott at the 2013 Masters. The soon-to-be-father of two becomes the fifth player in the last six years to win his first major title at the PGA Championship; he also wins the Wanamaker Trophy, 600 FedEx Cup points, and a cool $1.8 million!
Jason Day hugs his caddy with tears in his eyes after winning the #PGAChampionship https://t.co/uQ2wj0OxLb
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 16, 2015
Well Spieth may not have won another major this year, becoming the youngest player in history to do so if he accomplished that task, but the 22-year-old has something else to celebrate when he walked off the 72nd hole. Spieth is now the new World Number-One, winning both the Masters and the U.S. Open, finishing tied for fourth at The Open Championship, and now a lone second place at the PGA. He dethrones Rory McIlroy, who held on to the top spot for 53 consecutive weeks. He had this to say following the conclusion of the tournament!
2 inevitable things happened today, @JDayGolf winning a major and @JordanSpieth getting to 1 in the world! Congrats guys!! Inspiring stuff! — Rory Mcilroy (@McIlroyRory) August 16, 2015
Spieth also accumulates the best total score at all four majors this year with a score of 54-under.
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Biggest Movers:
Remember Victor Dubuisson from Saturday’s recap? Well, the Frenchman did it again! He shot another five-under round of 67 at Whistling Straits, moving up 18 spots in the process. The 25-year-old finished in a tie for 18th with Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas.
Though he struggled in the second and third rounds after a stellar start to the PGA Chanmpionship, David Lingmerth was able to make up some ground, shooting a six-under 66 on Sunday. The Swede moved up 18 spots up the leaderboard to a tie for 12th finish at 10-under.
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We haven’t mentioned him a lot this weekend, but a local fan favorite is Steve Stricker, who hails from Madison, Wisconsin, two hours Southwest of Whistling Straits. The 48-year-old made the cut and completed his 17th PGA Championship appearance on a strong note in the final round. He shot a two-under 70, allowing him to jump up 14 spots on the scoreboard to finish in a tie for 30th.
Shot of the Day:
Phil Mickelson wins the Sunday Shot of the Day with his little beauty of a bunker shot on the short Par-Four sixth. Lefty’s tee-shot was short of the green and in the front right side bunker, which has a steep bank to cover too. However, it wouldn’t matter for the 45-year-old and was rewarded with an eagle. Take a look and prepared to be amazed:
Textbook Lefty! #SapphireOnLocation #PGAChamp http://t.co/GnWjnUoJ61
— PGA.COM (@PGA_com) August 16, 2015
Next weekend, the PGA Tour will come to it’s final tournament before the post-season begins. The Wyndham Championship is the last chance for golfers not in the Top 125 of the points standings to make the 2015 FedEx Cup Playoffs; the event will take place at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina from August 20-23.