EDISON, N.J. — Jason Day powered and putted his way to another blowout against a world-class field Sunday at The Barclays.
Fresh off his first major title at the PGA Championship, Day pulled away early and poured it on with three long birdie putts on the back nine at Plainfield. A birdie on the closing hole gave him an 8-under-par 62 for a six-shot victory over Henrik Stenson.
Day closed with a 63-62 weekend and finished the tournament at 19-under 261. He won two weeks ago by three shots over Jordan Spieth with a record to par at 20-under 268.
The victory moves Day atop the FedEx Cup standings after the opening playoff event, assuring the 27-year-old Australian will be among the top five who have a clear shot at the $10 million bonus at the Tour Championship.
More compelling is another race for No. 1.
With his second consecutive victory, and fourth of the year, Day remains at No. 3 in the world but now enters the picture with Spieth and Rory McIlroy for golf supremacy. All three will have a mathematical chance to reach No. 1 at the Deutsche Bank Championship next week at TPC Boston.
“It’s been a special summer for me, and it’s not over,” Day said. “To be able to play the way I did over the weekend is fantastic. Today was just phenomenal golf.”
Stenson gave it a good shot.
Stenson made birdies on the 13th and 14th holes to get within two shots, and Day hit a tee shot well to the right in the trees in the group behind on No. 13. There was just enough of an opening for Day to pound a gap wedge over the trees and onto the green, and then he effectively ended the tournament. He holed a 30-foot birdie across the green on the par-3 14th, and rolled in a birdie from 35 feet on the 15th to stretch his lead to five shots.
Day is tied with Spieth with four wins on the PGA Tour this year, though two of those for Spieth were the Masters and U.S. Open.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@SportsCenter
