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Day hits the front in New Jersey
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Day hits the front in New Jersey

Defending champion Jason Day opened up a one-shot lead as the third round of the weather-delayed US PGA Championship moved towards its conclusion at Baltusrol Golf Club.

Jason Day

Day was one of ten players unable to start their third rounds on Saturday as heavy rain and storms saw half of the day washed out in New Jersey, but the ground staff did brilliantly to get the course playable for a 7.00am restart.

Jimmy Walker and Robert Streb still held their two-shot second-round lead when they teed off on Sunday morning but as they turned in 36, the World Number One made two birdies on his front nine and parred the tenth to get to nine under.

That gave him a one-shot cushion over William McGirt, who was flying through the field with five birdies in 15 holes, and a two-shot lead over Walker and Streb.

Open Champion Henrik Stenson was a further shot back alongside Emiliano Grillo, Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama.

Jimmy Walker

2014 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Koepka was the first to make a move on the leaders with a birdie on the second but Stenson soon also got into red numbers with an approach to four feet on the third.

Walker had done well to save his par on the first but he dropped a shot on the third after finding the greenside sand and with Streb doing the same, the gap to Stenson, Day and Grillo was down to one.

Day then drained an incredible 74-foot putt on the sixth to join the lead and when Streb and Walker both dropped shots on the eighth, he led on his own.

A further gain on the ninth gave him a two-shot advantage but McGirt made a fifth birdie of the day and third in four holes on the 15th to get to eight under.

Grillo and Stenson both had bogeys on the tenth to drop to six under.

Robert Streb

Branden Grace fired a 66 to set the clubhouse target at that mark, with Webb Simpson also six under after a 66 of his own.

"I think the rain delay did me the world of good in the end and I'm probably not the only one," said Grace. "There was hardly any wind this morning and because the course is so soft, you can now definitely go after a few of the pins.

"I had nine holes left this morning and other than an eight-footer on the 15th hole, I think I took pretty much all of my birdie chances."

Tyrrell Hatton also carded a 66 to sit at five under, a shot clear of Padraig Harrington - the 2008 champion - who fired an excellent 65 on Saturday.

The fourth round got under way at 8.40am with the same pairings as in round three going out in nine-minute intervals.

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