Summary It sounds like everyone is disappointed," Day said after signing for a career-best 61
CHICAGO (AFP) - Australia s Jason Day was more than satisfied to polish off a 10-under par-61 on Friday, after flirting with a 59 in the weather-disrupted first round of the BMW Championship.
Day needed an eagle at his final hole, the par-four ninth at Conway Farms, to record golf s magic number, and it was looking unlikely when he hit his tee shot into the right rough moments before inclement weather halted play on Thursday evening.
The 45-yard pitch shot he faced when he returned to the course on Friday was even tougher after overnight rain. He settled for a par and wasn t complaining about his four-stroke lead over a group of players that included Masters and US Open champion Jordan Spieth.
"It sounds like everyone is disappointed," Day said after signing for a career-best 61. ""I m like, jeez.
"Selfishly, 59 would have been great, but right now I m just trying to focus on winning the tournament. Only a handful of guys have shot 59, and I understand what the history is about that, but right now winning the tournament is more important."
Day -- who could grab the world number one ranking with a win in the penultimate event in the US PGA Tour s FedEx Cup playoffs, had nine birdies, one eagle and a bogey.
The 27-year-old Australian, whose four wins this year include his breakthrough major at the PGA Championship, already tops the standings in the FedEx Cup -- the playoff race capped by next week s Tour Championship where a $10 million bonus will be on offer to the series winner.
Spieth, still very much in the playoff hunt despite back-to-back missed cuts, played alongside Day -- and almost holed out his approach shot at their finishing hole on Friday en route to a birdie that gave him his share of second.
After a round that included a hole-in-one on Thursday, Spieth was tied with tour rookie Daniel Berger, two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, Kevin na and Justin Thomas.
Day said he didn t realize on Thursday that he was so close to shooting 59 -- because he was thinking Conway Farms was a par-72 rather than a par-71.
But there was no mistaking the signficance of the occasion when a crowd of media gathered for the resumption of his round.
"It was a bit weak," Spieth quipped of Day s shot. "I mean, for a 59, being able to place it in the rough and softer greens, you know, you would have liked to see a better chance.
"But I ve come to expect not-great things from him lately," added Spieth, who was out-dueled by a record-setting Day at the PGA Championship last month. "So it didn t really surprise me."
