Pressure squarely on Day's young shoulders at TPC Boston

NORTON, Mass. -- In a little more than three months, Jason Day has had a chance to win three golf tournaments.

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Third-round coverage

MICKELSON'S MOMENT: For the second year in a row, Phil Mickelson hits the flag at No. 15 but with a far different outcome that has him near the lead. Story FEDEXCUP WRAP-UP: Here's a quick look at the latest FedExCup projections and implications following the third round. More STILL BOGEY-FREE: Thanks to bogey-free streak that continued Sunday, Steve Stricker is position to repeat at TPC Boston. Column

The 22-year-old Australian successfully converted one opportunity, and he learned a lot from the other two. Maybe that's why he's got another chance in his third straight start on Labor Day at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Day will take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the second event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. He'll play with Brandt Snedeker in the final group for the second straight sun-kissed afternoon as the pressure mounts on Monday.

And it he plays the way he did on Sunday, Day could emerge with the biggest win of his career at the most opportune time.

He was nearly flawless in the third round as he shot a 66 marred only by a three-putt at the 16th hole -- that also happened to snap a 36-hole streak where he didn't drop a shot to par. He's in control at 17 under, primed to take the next not-so-baby step and join Ernie Els, Steve Stricker, Justin Rose, Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan as two-time champs in 2010.

Among the players chasing Day are the Nos. 2 and 4 players in the world, Phil Mickelson and the aforementioned Stricker, who would like nothing better than a successful title defense to take over No. 1 in the FedExCup.

"I just have to kind of look away from the leaderboards and just keep giving it 100 percent and just keep playing my game," Day said. "I think if I don't worry about that, then I'll be all right."

Don't let his tender age -- Day doesn't turn 23 until Nov. 12 -- fool you. He won on the Nationwide Tour at the age of 19, and in May, Day took a two-stroke lead into the final round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship and won despite a water-logged bogey on the 72nd hole.

His last two starts haven't been as kind to Day, who continues to get in the hunt despite battling fatigue that may be due to a sinus problem or might also be attributed to mononucleosis. Even so, he had a chance, and there aren't a lot of players who can say the same.

Day played in the penultimate group in the final round at The Barclays last week before tying for fifth after shooting 71. He was paired with the eventual champ, Martin Kaymer, at the PGA Championship but tumbled down the leaderboard with a 74 on Sunday that left him tied for 10th.

Updated standings

The second event in the 2010 PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup is under way. To see the latest FedExCup points projections, click here.

The learning curve can sometimes turn into a long and winding road for young players like Day. The more frequently they have a chance, though, the quicker they are to navigate the path to victory.

Take The Barclays for example. Day's driver deserted him on the weekend at Ridgewood as he went from hitting 86 percent of his fairways to 29 percent on Saturday and Sunday.

"I made a few swing changes earlier this week and I'm driving it a little better," Day said. "But I was very proud of myself that I stuck it out and shot even par even though that's not the greatest score on a Sunday to win a tournament.

"But I was there, I hung around, which was nice. And I think the biggest thing tomorrow is just to keep hanging around and try and make them chase me."

Day doesn't want his emotions to get the better of him, either. He can't let an errant shot bother him or get too amped up when he sticks the ball close to the pin.

"I think the biggest thing for me (Monday) is to commit to the shot that needs to be hit and not standing up there and second guessing myself and not committing to a shot," Day said. "Because the moment I do that, the moment the ball starts to go a little wide, especially with the driver.

"I need to try and give myself as much birdie chances out there as possible. I think that's the key tomorrow. It's going to be gusty, and patience is probably going to be the biggest key, as well."

Snedeker knows a thing or two about the value of patience. He's as excitable as they come and will be working to maintain an even keel in the final round, as will his playing partner.

"I'm really going to try to take my time tomorrow and enjoy the day," Snedeker said. "You don't get these days very often out here. I'm not Tiger Woods; I don't play in the last group every week, so it's kind of nice for me to do that and have some fun.

"Jason is a great guy. I think that makes a big difference that we get along real well and have fun out on there on the golf course. So we'll both be relatively comfortable tomorrow and hopefully can feed off each other and hopefully separate ourselves from the field and make it a two-horse race tomorrow afternoon would be great."