Jason Day wins maiden major title

• Jason Day wins maiden major title at Whistling Straits
• Sees off the challenge of Spieth, Rose & Grace on the final day
• Rises up to No.3 in the world – Spieth takes top spot 

When tee times for the US PGA Championship were announced last week, Jason Day was paired with Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler in a group which was dubbed ‘the best current players not to have won a major’.

But by Sunday evening, the 27-year-old ensured that he’d be in no such group ever again after seeing off the challenge of Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose and Branden Grace throughout the final round at Whistling Straits to secure his maiden major triumph.

Day, who had nine top ten finishes in majors since the US PGA Championship in 2010, showed no sign of nerves at the start of his round, surging further ahead with four birdies in his first seven holes to reach 19-under.

“I didn’t realise how tough it was going to be” – Jason Day

Such was the impressive nature of the Aussie’s performance, Spieth didn’t make any inroads on the overnight deficit, with other challengers Branden Grace and Justin Rose seeing their chances of the title fade with double-bogeys at the tenth and 13th respectively when within two shots of the lead.

And when Spieth, who reached world No.1 with his second-placed finish, put the pressure on with a birdie on the 14th, Day did so himself to go four clear with four to play and, with a three-shot margin heading down the 18th, he signed off with a par to have his name etched on the Wanamaker Trophy.

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“I knew today was going to be tough, but I didn’t realise how tough it was going to be,” said Jason Day. “I learned a lot about myself being able to finish the way I did and the experiences I’ve had in the past with previous major finishes has definitely helped me prepare for a moment like this.

“To be able to walk up the 18th hole and finish the way I did, it was just a lot of emotion that came out of me. I haven’t really had much time to think about what I accomplished and I guess you can take me off the best players without a major now.”

And in posting 20-under-par, Day became the first player to do so in major championship history, overtaking the 19-under-par total of Tiger Woods at St Andrews in 2000.

“I had no idea about the record until after it was over and someone told me about it,” Jason Day admitted. “With the amount of history in our game, to be able to hold that record is really amazing. It really is just something that I haven’t been able to sit down and just kind of absorb and really cherish but I would like to have that record for a long time.”

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And Spieth paid tribute to the Aussie after signing of his major season with two wins, a runner-up finish and fourth.

“We play a lot of golf and we played a lot of major championship rounds together and that was the best I’ve ever seen him play,” said Spieth. “It was Jason’s day. I mean power to him. He played like he had won seven or eight majors before. There’s a pep in his step and it was going to be his day.”

Jason Day :: Major winner

What did you make of Jason Day’s win and the final day’s action at Whistling Straits? Leave your thoughts in the ‘Comments’ section below.