While he may have too much to do to catch Rory McIlroy on Sunday, Jason Day is in the mix to secure one of his best ever finishes at The Masters, with the Australian inside the top 10 ahead of the final round.
Jason Day has been one of the most consistent performers over the first three days at Augusta National. The Australian reached the halfway stage having only made one bogey across his first two rounds.
His third round proved to be a little more up and down, but he still managed to post a 71 after making three birdies and two bogeys.
However, it was one of the bogeys which ended up leaving fans quite baffled – because of how the 2015 PGA Championship winner had tackled the hole.
Fans criticise Jason Day after shot at The Masters
Day found the middle of the 16th green. But with the pin just over the bunker, he may have been frustrated to not catch the slope which would send the ball closer and set up a genuine birdie opportunity.
Bur rather than face a treacherous putt, Day decided to chip the ball – seemingly in the hope of creating enough spin to maintain some control off the slope.
Interestingly, the club selection completely divided fans on social media. One viewer reacted to the shot by posting: ‘This makes no sense to me. He doesn’t even look that far away from the pin!‘
Another wrote: ‘No, not appropriate anywhere! Have some respect for people who take care of the green!‘ Someone else said: ‘I don’t think that’s appropriate on any golf course.’
Others have defended Day’s right to use a wedge on the putting surface, even at Augusta. One said: ‘Only way to get that close, needed the backspin‘.
Another wrote: ‘He’s trying to win a golf tournament. He’s dead downhill. Only way to keep it on the green is to get some backspin. I see no problem with it‘.
It seemed that some had no issue with using the wedge on greens as pristine as those at Augusta. Their bigger problem was what went through Day’s head to make him think it was the right call, with one fan writing: ‘appropriate or not it’s a terrible play‘.
Another added: ‘It’s appropriate and legal anywhere golf is played. I think it was a stupid shot though.’
Jason Day explains the thinking behind his second shot on 16
Day would actually miss the par putt and make a four. And following his round, he explained why he felt that he was better off using the wedge.
“There’s one green that I — there’s a couple of greens out there that I think are too severe. That one I actually hit a pretty good shot going into the green. I mean, a yard left and it’s down the hill and you’ve got a birdie opportunity, and you’re standing on the green thinking, well, if I putt it the best chance I’ve got is 10 feet other than if I hole it,” he said.
“Try and take the first two yards of the green out of play which is the most severe and then land it with a little bit of cut spin so hopefully it kind of cuts back into the slope and then dribbles down.
“I actually hit a pretty good chip, just a little bit high, and then the second putt was good. I just didn’t hit it hard enough.”
Obviously the fact that it is a tactic so rarely seen – at any golf tournament – suggests that Day made the wrong call. It did not help his cause that he walked off with a four anyway.
But when you see his explanation, you can start to understand why he felt compelled to leave the putter in the bag on his second shot.
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