It’s only the beginning of the season, but Jason Day couldn’t be happier with his form and the golf gods at American Express on the PGA Tour.
The former world No. 1 had every reason to be happy after shooting an 8-under 64 on Thursday, leaving him just two shots behind leader JT Poston (62).
Day had two eagles, four birdies and a lone bogey at La Quinta Country Club to finish third.
His two eagles on the sixth and 13th holes went berserk as the Australian showed off his razor-sharp short game.
“Pretty good. The short game was good,” the Queenslander said.
“Obviously I put in three shots, which usually helps, two of them were at Eagle, so it’s always nice to be in a position to give yourself a good chance to birdie the par 5 because obviously you’ve got to take advantage of the opportunities here.
“Early days, so three more days.”
The tournament is played on three courses, with Poston carving its 62 courses on the Niklaus Tournament layout and the other being the Pete Dye Stadium Course.
Day will start at the Course, where he practiced, on the final day after advancing to the top 65 through 54 holes and tied for a tie, but he is not prepared to look far into the future.
“I played a practice round on Monday. We played it on a windy day. (On) 13 I landed three steps and she bounced 35 steps.
“I want to see the scores, see what the guys shot there and where some of the tee locations are…all three courses are doable if you play well, so I’ll just have to take it one day at a time.”
Compatriot Cam Davis played the Stadium Course and shot a 3-under 69.
Davis had five birdies but was bitten by a double bogey on the seventh, dropping him to 65th at the end of the round.
Carson Young, Nick Taylor and Jackson Struber were the best of the field contingent, with their seven players under 65 putting them in a tie for eighth.
Day has a game plan that he believes will keep him in contention.
“As long as you can stay under six-under a day, I think it gives you a pretty good chance.”
Poston leads on a shot by Justin Lower, with a five-man group on his back including Day, JJ Spaun and Joel Dahmen.
