Jason Day extends lead in Chicago — BMW Championship

A exhausted Day’s bid stalled at the Deutsche Bank Championship, but he returned two weeks later to post a stunning wire-to-wire win at the BMW Championship, the third FedExCup event, on Sunday. He shot an opening-round 61 and a second-round 63 to be 18-under after just two rounds of play.

Spieth contended at the BMW Championship, but confessed he was lacking confidence and consistency in his game.

However it was 27-year-old Day who succeeded Rory McIlroy at the top of the rankings after a final round of 69 earned him a six-shot victory at the BWM Championship.

Day becomes the youngest Aussie to reach number one and the third in history behind Greg Norman and Adam Scott. Since then, Day has been on an absolute tear.

In recent years, we’ve seen plenty of players get hot at the right time, often with lucrative results. However, he just won once, past year at The Barclays, in the playoffs.

The win also made Day the front-runner in the 30-man field heading into the series finale in Atlanta. Still, with only 29 other players to beat, Day will be the overwhelming favorite.

“It’s tough to explain”, Day said on NBC regarding his current run of form.

If Day manages a victory in Atlanta, it could make the race for Player of the Year considerably closer than anyone expected after Spieth won the Masters and U.S. Open and appeared to lock up the award.

But the battle for No. 1 wasn’t the only drama hanging over the tournament. He entered this week ranked 46th in points. Scott Piercy finished third, seven back.

Bubba sits 5th in the FedEx Cup standings and a win would clinch the FedEx Cup championship.

In a chat with Sky Sports 4, Day said that reaching the top ranking plus his win on Sunday had not quite sunk in yet when questioned on how he felt about the achievement.

After putting his drive in the gallery on the left side of the fairway, Day knocked his approach on the fringe for a 15-foot birdie putt.

The fortuitous par-five 18th allowed him to drop back under par for the day and move into a tie for fourth with Rickie Fowler and J.B. Holmes.

Dustin Johnson (final-round 70), Cameron Tringale (66) and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (66) tied for seventh at 271. For Matsuyama, it was his ninth top 10 of the season, and first since June.

Ridiculed and hammered when he voiced his dream as a 19-year-old rookie to become world No.1, Day has finally given his critics a serve of humble pie and looks set to fight with McIlroy and Spieth at the top for years to come. He had committed to play in the season-opening Frys.com Open on October.