Jason Day followed up his impressive 65 with a 2-under 69 on Friday at the Genesis Invitational, but it could have been much lower. The Australian jumped to the top of the leaderboard early in his round but coughed up the lead.
He sits tied for second at 8-under, trailing the current leader Patrick Cantlay.
After his second round, the 36-year-old knew he let a dominant position slip away.
“I’m very pleased with where I’m at, but I know that I could be a lot better considering where I was after 10 and three-putting 11 and then bogeying 12 and 13,” Day said.
Day came out hot, logging an eagle on the 1st, but lost one of those shots as he bogeyed the 2nd. He got it right back though on three and added another birdie on the par-4 8th to make the turn in 32.
The 13-time PGA Tour winner got to 10-under on 10 and had a look for eagle on 11. Instead, he three-putted for par and then carded back-to-back bogeys on 12 and 13, taking the wind out of his sails.
“Didn’t hit enough fairways today… When you’re not quite sharp enough like I was yesterday with my short game, that obviously makes it a little bit tough,” he said.
Day is tied for second in strokes gained total but sits at No. 24 in strokes gained putting and off the tee.
While Cantlay continues to add to his lead, Day is playing well enough to keep himself in the hunt. He just needs to putt more efficiently this weekend and the $4 million winner’s prize may just be his.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
