All eyes will be on Jordan Spieth and his chase of history Sunday afternoon at Whistling Straits, but 54-hole PGA Championship leader Jason Day will do everything he can to keep his eyes on the prize and off the reigning Masters and U.S. Open champion.
After ending a very long Saturday alone in first place at a major after 54 holes for the first time, Day seemed to give himself a pep talk about "all the boring stuff" he must focus on if he’s to prevail over America’s sweetheart and claim that first grand slam title he so desperately craves.
The key to capturing the Wanamaker Trophy and keeping Spieth from becoming the first golfer in history to win all three majors played on American soil in the same year, cliched as it may be, is to stay within himself, Day said.
"Really not trying to beat yourself. I think the hardest thing for a player is when they're trying to close, they kind of get if in their own way, start thinking to themselves if they can do it, if they can't do it, is the shot too hard, is the shot too easy," Day told reporters after firing a third-round 6-under 66 to head into Sunday’s finale two slim shots ahead of his hard-charging final-round playing competitor.
Jason Day's week: 2 eagles 18 birdies 28 pars 5 bogeys 1 double
— Mike O'Malley (@GD_MikeO) August 16, 2015
"A number of things can happen, especially on a final round of a major championship. I've done all the hard work right now to get into contention, to have this lead. So tomorrow I just need to be patient with myself, need to make sure that I stay disciplined to my targets," added Day, at 15-under for the week following a round that featured a bounce-back after what could have been a tourney-ending double-bogey down the stretch. "It's all the boring stuff, really, that you guys don't want to hear. But it's really the honest truth that I'm trying to get out because I can't get in my own way."
He may have been speaking generically for the most part, but Day was clearly talking about what has kept him oh, so close, but still emotionally miles away from the winner’s circle. Until Saturday, Day had not been in sole possession of the 54-hole lead at any major, though he had plenty of experience as the disappointed wannabe.
Phil Mickelson may be the king of runners-up, with his record six second-place finishes at U.S. Opens. But Lefty has nothing on Day in the tough-break category. Day, with four PGA Tour wins to his credit, will kick off his Sunday among the top five at a major for the eighth time.
Day had to battle more than his competitors at Chambers Bay, where his vertigo made more headlines than his share of the 54-hole lead. More recently, he took the lead at the British Open but got stuck in neutral, making 12 consecutive pars down the stretch and missing the playoff by a stroke.
"I've been here before, so I kind of know what to expect," he said. "I haven't won before, so that's something that is possibly a new experience for me tomorrow."
Someone who has been there before is Spieth, who, after slamming the door shut on his rivals in two grand slam events in 2015, would seem to have a distinct edge on the 27-year-old Australian.
"I would draw back on past major weekends as a different type of experience than any other experience that you can have," Spieth said after going on a birdie barrage on the back nine at Whistling Straits on Saturday.
With six birdies in his last eight holes after a ho-hum 1-under 35 on his outgoing nine, Spieth rocketed up the standings with a flawless 65 that had him poised to capture the so-called American Slam. A win would also put Spieth in elite company with Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods as the only golfers in modern times to own three major titles in the same season.
"Luckily, that hole looks big recently for us on major weekends, and that's what we just had to keep believing today," said Spieth.
Day rebounded with a birdie from a double-bogey on the par-4 15th and a disappointing par on the 16th after a huge drive and 260-yard 3-wood rewarded him with a gnarly lie just above the hole. He carded six straight threes in his stellar third round.
Determined to remain focused on the task at hand, he acknowledged that the most difficult challenge would likely not be the course but the guys playing catch-up who hoped to send him home again with lovely parting gifts but no hardware.
"The moment I start seeing what Jordan is doing or what [2013 U.S. Open winner Justin] Rose is doing, or the guys behind me are doing, the moment I see I've made a mistake here, I should have done this, I get in my own way," said Day, "and I can't let that happen."
Day, though, may already be seeing ghosts of rounds past. He has gone to the first tee of a finale with the lead seven times and won only once, according to Ryan Lavner. Rather than "spend time with the family" after a a marathon day in which players had to finish their second rounds due to storms that suspended play on Friday, as he said he would do, Day appeared to be the only golfer on the practice range Saturday night.
Some Golf Channel analysts conjectured that he was just trying to relax after the adrenaline rush of his third round, while others wondered what could possibly need fixing after a day that featured eight birdies and an eagle.
"One more day left," he said before doing his best impression of — as his friend Tiger Woods would say — Ranger Rick. "I got to keep pushing forward, keep grinding, keep doing the best I can do out there and see how it goes tomorrow."