Sunday 10 April 2016 01:14, UK
Jason Day clawed his way back into contention at the Masters after recovering from an uncertain start to card a hard-fought 71 in the third round at windy Augusta.
Day started the round five shots behind leader Jordan Spieth, and he lost further ground on the defending champion when he bogeyed the first, although he responded immediately with a two-putt birdie at the second.
The world No 1 ground out a run of pars before closing out an outward 35 with a birdie at nine, and he failed to get up and down after missing the green at the 12th before repairing the damage at the next.
Day appeared in danger of dropping back at 14 when he drove into the trees, but he managed to hack his second onto the edge of the green and rolled in a remarkable 69-foot putt for a welcome birdie.
He let another shot slip at the 16th, but he parred in to stay at level par for the tournament and within striking distance of Spieth for the final round.
"The last three days have been really tough, and I'm just trying to stay patient," he said afterwards. "It's always hard to have the lead in majors in these conditions, to keep pressing forward.
"So I kept grinding it out, kept trying to get the birdies where possible and minimise the mistakes. And today, I did that and I was very happy with it.
"I need to show a bit more patience tomorrow even though I'm going to have to score opportunities. The wind is going to die down hopefully, but we'll see how it goes. Sundays at Augusta are a different story, it's always fun to play Masters Sunday in contention."
He also paid tribute to playing partner Bernhard Langer after the 58-year-old two-time champion defied his age and fired a 70 to move into third place.
"That was just so impressive to watch. I could tell how gritty he is and how much of a competitor he is," Day added.
Meanwhile, Day's fellow Aussie Adam Scott "scrambled" a 75 which left the 2013 champion among the also-rans on seven over.
"It's so brutally difficult out there, there's no birdie opportunities and it's just a scramble all day," he said. "The greens are so, so tough. They're so fast ... blustery conditions, it's just impossible to really control the ball."
