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Jason Day flirts with 59, then shoots 63 for lead in BMW Championship

Jason Day celebrates after making an eagle putt at No. 18 on Friday during the second round of the BMW Championship.

Jason Day celebrates after making an eagle putt at No. 18 on Friday during the second round of the BMW Championship.

(Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press)
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Jason Day rolled in a 42-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole at Conway Farms to cap an eight-under 63 and seize a five-shot lead Friday at the halfway point of the BMW Championship.

The Australian’s two-day total of 124 tied the PGA Tour record for lowest 36-hole score.

The 63 followed a 10-under 61 that Day completed Friday morning. He had a 44-yard pitch for an eagle that would have given him the seventh 59 in Tour history, but it came up a few feet short and his birdie putt lipped out.

“I should’ve got to 19 [under],” said Day, referring to a lone second-round bogey on the par-four 13th. “It’s a good stat to have or be a part of, but it’s only 36 holes.”

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Still, the world’s third-ranked player already is more strokes under par than Zach Johnson was when he won the 2013 BMW Championship at Conway Farms at 16 under.

The latest feat by Day, who has won three of his last five tournaments, including his first major at the PGA Championship, is the only thing keeping the third leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs from having a tight leaderboard.

Brendon Todd, who holed an 81-yard eagle pitch on No. 18 for a 63, and PGA Tour rookie Daniel Berger are tied for second at 13 under. Jordan Spieth matched playing partner Day’s eagle on 18 to get into a tie for fourth at 11 under. The group at nine under includes Dustin Johnson, whose second-round 62 was the best of the day.

And then there’s the man Day is trying to replace atop the world rankings.

Rory McIlroy, whose last win came at the Wells Fargo Championship in May, was taken aback when he saw his name on the leaderboards.

“I saw myself in the top 10, and I was like, ‘I haven’t been in the top 10 since June,’” said McIlroy, who missed a chunk of the season between the U.S. Open and PGA Championship because of an ankle injury.

McIlroy is tied for ninth at nine under after rounds of 68 and 65. He said the par-71 Conway Farms layout, with greens softened by heavy rain, was playing to a par of 66 or 67 on Friday, though not everyone agreed.

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“Rory is the No. 1 player in the world, so he can say things like that,” Todd said.

McIlroy got going by chipping in for eagle on the short par-four seventh and was six under after a birdie on the par-five 14th. But he missed good birdie chances on 16 and 17 and had to save par on 18 after hitting his second shot into the creek.

Well before Day’s big finish, McIlroy knew he had thrown away some valuable strokes.

“I’m going to have to go really low over the weekend to have a chance,” he said. “Jason could easily get to 17, 18 under par. From there, it would be really tough for me to climb back.”

According to Spieth, “really tough” might be an understatement.

“The way we finished gave myself a bit of an outside chance, but what [Day is] doing right now is something I haven’t witnessed,” Spieth said. “If he continues this pace, then he won’t be caught.”

jborneman@tribpub.com

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