Day wins Nelson; teen 16th

Associated Press

IRVING, TEXAS

Jason Day knows all about being a young, up-and-coming golf star. So he didn’t mind one bit sharing the spotlight of his first PGA Tour victory with 16-year-old Jordan Spieth.

Heck, it might have helped.

“I was walking to the fourth hole and it looked like there was a thousand people following him,” Day said. “It took a little bit of pressure off my shoulders knowing that the good majority of the fans that were following me were close friends and family.”

Spieth was within three strokes of the lead on the final nine holes of the Byron Nelson Championship on Sunday, then drifted back into a tie for 16th. It’s still an incredible finish for a kid who last week was playing in the state high school tournament.

While Spieth likely will be remembered as the big winner of this week, it is Day’s name that will go up on the champion’s wall behind the oversized statue of Nelson near the first tee.

Already in the record books as the youngest winner on the Nationwide Tour — he was 19 — Day had to wait until he was 22 for this breakthrough.

“It’s been a hard, tough road,” Day said. “I’ve had a lot of negative thoughts go through my head. ... I would always think of what jobs I could do if I didn’t secure my card. ... I’m glad I just stuck through it.”

He’s glad he stuck through this week, too.

Day nearly withdrew Thursday morning because he felt so ill. He wound up tied for the lead after the first round and was near the top all week, even while scuffling through a 2-over 72 on Sunday.

He thought he might have blown it when his approach to the final hole went into the water. But he got a reprieve when playing partner Blake Adams also knocked his ball into the water.

Day salvaged a bogey, while Adams, a 34-year-old Tour rookie, took a double bogey and dropped into a tie for second with Brian Gay and Jeff Overton. Gay shot 7-under 63, the best round Sunday by three strokes.