It was all Jason Day at the BMW from Thursday through Sunday, no ifs, ands or buts about it.
Day went wire-to-wire and captured his second victory of the FedEx Cup playoffs Sunday afternoon at Conway Farms with a steady, consistent performance that also moved him to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
Day shot a second straight 69, finished 22-under par and finished the day where he started — six shots clear of his closest competition.
That runnerup spot went to Daniel Berger, who shot 16-under par and made a huge move that jumped him from 46th in the FedEx Cup standings to ninth and earned the 22-year-old rookie a spot in the Tour Championship at East Lake starting Thursday.
Like Berger, third-place finisher Scott Piercy was on the outside of the top 30 looking in but that solo third at 14-under vaulted him from the 44th spot to the 20th and punched his ticket to East Lake.
But on this sunny, breezy Chicago afternoon, it was Day who stepped up in a big way, admitting that he was so very nervous despite his huge lead.
“I felt a lot of pressure the last two days, especially today,” the 27-year-old Aussie admitted after his big win. “It was the toughest round I’ve ever had to play in my entire life. Someone could have shot low and I don’t win and I’m not No. 1.”
But that wasn’t the case. Day’s lead fell to four shots at one point but down the home stretch, he got it back to five then birdied the 18th to finish where he started. It was only the second wire-to-wire victory this season. The other came at the Masters where Jordan Spieth lapped the field.
It has been an amazing late summer stretch for Day, who has won four of his last six events and has five PGA Tour wins to his credit this season. He has also inserted himself in the discussion for Player of the Year.
“It’s tough to explain,” Day said of his brilliant play. “I’ve been working so hard. I just want to win. To get to No. 1, you have to win consistently.”
