NORTON, Mass. – Jason Day was one six players who played their way into the Deutsche Bank Championship with a solid performance at The Barlcays, but no one climbed further than the Australian to keep his playoff run alive.
Day’s closing 66 at Bethpage lifted him into a tie for 24th, good enough to jump him from 113th to start the playoffs to 88th. Although he will need another good week at TPC Boston to crack the top 70 and earn a spot at the BMW Championship, Day seemed to take motivation from his plight when asked about it on Wednesday.
“It hasn’t been the best year for me, a couple of injures and the birth of my first child, so there’s been a lot of distractions,” said Day, who has finished T-3 and T-2 in the last two Deutsche Bank Championships. “The goal at the start of the playoffs was to get to the Tour Championship. I know I have to stay aggressive and play well here to get through.”
Day figures he needs a top-20 finish at the Deutsche Bank to advance otherwise his season is over – literally. Unlike many other players with short playoff runs, Day said he will not play any of the Fall Series events.