AKRON, Ohio — Jason Day had no indication that Saturday at the Bridgestone Invitational would be such hard work until one swing.
AKRON, Ohio — Jason Day had no indication that Saturday at the Bridgestone Invitational would be such hard work until one swing.
His plan was to hit a draw with his driver, and the shot started out to the right. Trouble is, it kept going to the right until he was deep in the trees.
“That came out of nowhere,” Day said. “It wasn’t just down the right. It was way right. I think it’s more of a mental thing when it comes to those ones because when you’re sharp and you’re on your game and you’re hitting it great, you don’t miss them that far.”
It didn’t help that he missed again on the next hole. And then the next one. Or that he hit only three fairways on a Firestone course that demands more.
Day still managed to turn that into a 1-under 69 to share the lead with Scott Piercy.
“I felt like Mr. Haverkamp out of ‘Caddyshack’ trying to find his golf ball and not knowing where the golf hole goes,” Day said.
But he could find the bottom of the cup, including three par putts of at least 8 feet.
Piercy, coming off a runner-up finish in the U.S. Open two weeks ago at Oakmont, quickly tied Day for the lead with an eagle on the par-5 second hole and was flawless until the final hole. He had a one-shot lead until pulling his tee shot into the left rough, running a low shot through the green and into a back bunker, and having to scramble just to escape with a bogey and a 67.
They were at 5-under 205, the highest 54-hole score at this World Golf Championship since 2007.