Spieth Falls Short of Another Major, Takes Over No. 1 Ranking

His win moves him to number 3 in the world but Day said he was not done just yet: “I still want to accomplish that No. 1 goal of mine, which is to be the best player in the world“.

In the 48 hours since Australia’s Jason Day captured his first major championship title – the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits – he has spent quality time with family and catching up on some much needed rest.

Day had previously finished inside the top-10 nine times in majors without closing the deal but he finally shook the gorilla off his back with his three-shot victory at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

After a string of near misses in the past five years, Queenslander Jason Day was beginning to wonder whether his name would forever be on that dreaded list of “best players never to win a major”. Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Day are Nos.

Spieth’s rise may have been hastened by the ruptured left ankle injury McIlroy suffered on July 4, which forced him out of title defenses at the British Open and the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational – where McIlroy regained the top ranking past year. “It’s an unbelievable feeling”.

He saw a mature, married man with a son and another child due in November, and someone now with six PGA Tour wins that include a major.

The last two majors should emphasize how remarkable it was that Jordan Spieth won the first two. To be able to play the way I did today, especially with Jordan in my group, I could tell that he was the favorite.

“I’m exhausted from the majors this year because of what it does”, Spieth said.

“The thing I’ve noticed about Jordan is that, every time he plays a bad round, the very next day he always bounces back with a strong round.

It has taken over now”, said Day, and there was no cause to argue the point after 39-year-old Tiger Woods – floundering all season – missed the cut at his third major in a row.

‘That’s why a lot of emotion came out on 18, just knowing that my mom took a second mortgage out on the house, borrowed money from my aunt and uncle, just to get me away from where I was to go to school, seven hours drive.

The trio are being tipped to form a new “big three” of golf, reminiscent of the way Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player dominated the game, but Rose, 35, is confident he has the talent to add to his solitary major at the 2013 U.S. Open. After squandering leads or shared leads after 54 holes in both the U.S. Open and the British Open earlier this summer, he was determined to go home with the Wanamaker trophy and the winner’s purse of $1.8 million. He is the second-youngest player to reach number one – after Woods at 21 in 1997. “I wouldn’t say I was surprised, but I was amazed that he kept pulling driver and kept hitting it in the tight zones”, said Spieth. “The experiences that I’ve had in the past with previous major finishes have definitely helped me prepare myself for a moment like this”, he said. “It’s just good for golf“.