Early, shocking exit for McIlroy, Day at Erin Hills

ERIN, Wis. — Jason Day raved about Erin Hills. He joked about buying a house in Wisconsin and giving cheese a try should he win the U.S. Open this weekend. He brushed off Cleveland’s NBA Finals loss to Golden State. Day is feeling good again. On the course and, more important, at home. Day’s mother, Dening, had surgery for lung cancer in March, and the World No. 3 golfer said Tuesday she is doing well. She had more scans recently, and the results are on the way to her doctors. For Day, it’s a little peace of mind after a rough time at the start of the year. “When someone has cancer and you don’t know whether or not they’re going to survive or what the outcome is going to happen — and plus with my mom, who sacrificed a lot for me to be in this position today, it was tough,” said the 29-year-old Day, who was 12 when his father died of stomach cancer. “I mean it was — I don’t wish it upon anyone. It’s something that I could never — I didn’t want to focus on golf. I didn’t want to be on the golf course, because I knew she was at home.” Day withdrew from the Dell Technologies Match Play in March so he could be with his mother. He returned for the Masters, where he tied for 22nd at 2-over par. After missing the cut in the Zurich Classic and tying for 60th at THE PLAYERS Championship, his game started to round into form. Day, who began the year ranked No. 1, got into a playoff with Billy Horschel at AT&T Byron Nelson last month, but lost when he missed a short par putt. He followed with another encouraging performance at the Memorial, tying for 15th at 5 under. “Momentum, it’s key — I think momentum is more key during tournament rounds than actually looking at it,” he said. “Because, yeah, I’m starting to get a lot more confidence over the last two events I’ve played compared to the first nine events that I played. But I look at more during the round knowing that, OK, the middle part of my round’s probably the hardest part of my round, per se.” The U.S. Open at expansive Erin Hills, located about 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee, brings Day back to the same state where he claimed the biggest of his 10 PGA TOUR victories two years ago. The Australian broke through for his first major win in the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan, shooting 20 under for a three-shot victory over Jordan Spieth. So naturally, he is quite fond of the home of the cheeseheads. “There’s a lot of good memories coming back,” he said. “The people are fantastic. I love the people up here. Very, very nice. Very genuine people. If I pick one up here, great. That would be a really neat thing to be able to win my first two majors in the state of Wisconsin. Definitely like the golf courses up here. They’re tremendous golf courses. But I’m just trying to do the best job I can.” Day’s best work usually plays quite well at the U.S. Open. He has five top-10 finishes in the last six years, including runner-up at Congressional in 2011 and Merion in 2013. “Everyone is going to run into some sort of trouble out there, everyone is,” he said. “It’s a matter of how you handle yourself in that moment to prepare yourself to greatness. … I’d much rather the course be harder than easier. Tough conditions, windy conditions, rain whatever it is, as long as it’s harder, I feel like I play a lot better in conditions like that.”

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Here’s what athletes, celebrities and other notable golf fans had to say as Woods’ triumph in Augusta sent the internet into Sunday frenzy.

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Phil Mickelson and his sublime short game delivered more entertainment than all the athletes and celebrities for the Saturday show at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Mickelson made the impossible look easy from a bunker behind the par-3 seventh green at Pebble Beach. He holed out from a bunker for birdie on the 13th, and chipped in from 90 feet for birdie on the next hole. Related: Leaderboard | Mickelson’s lucky silver dollar When he ran in one last birdie, Mickelson had a 5-under 67 and trailed Nick Taylor of Canada by one shot going into the final round. Mickelson will be going for a record sixth title at Pebble Beach, and his first PGA TOUR victory since he won this tournament last year. Taylor had a cold and relatively quiet day, away from all the hits and giggles around the celebrity rotation at Pebble. He teed off at tough Spyglass Hill with a beanie and hand warmers because of heavy marine layer, warmed up as the sun broke through and made a 25-foot eagle putt late in his round for a 69. Taylor was at 17-under 198 as he goes for his second PGA TOUR victory, and first since he won the Sanderson Farms Championship in his fourth start as a TOUR rookie. Mickelson hit a flop shot over the bunker on the par-5 18th to pull within one shot. They will be in the final group, along with their amateur partners. Mickelson has former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young, while Taylor has Golf Digest editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde. Taylor and Mickelson have never played together. “It’s going to be a new experience for that reason, if I am playing with him,” Taylor said. “Obviously, if he makes a putt or great shot, the crowd’s going to go wild. I’ve just got to do my own thing, try to block all that out. Easier said than done, without having to do it before, but I’ll do the best I can.” This is a two-man show; however, Jason Day posted a 70 at Spyglass Hill and was only three shots behind at 14-under 201. For others, it was a wasted opportunity. Pebble Beach had more wind than earlier in the week, but still gentle enough that low scores were available. Dustin Johnson, a two-time winner at Pebble, was in striking range and could manage only a 72, leaving him eight shots back. Patrick Cantlay played the final six holes in 2 over for a 72 and was nine shots back. Mickelson started with a pair of birdies. He took a share of the lead with a birdie on the par-5 sixth. And then the fun began. His wedge on the 110-yard seventh hole that drops down into the Pacific went long and plugged in the back bunker, impossible because of the back pin and a fast green that slopes toward the front. He splashed out so perfectly that it took a few hops in the rough before reaching the green, slow enough to stop 2 feet away for a tap-in par. Even for Mickelson, it rates among his best. Then, his 50-foot bunker shot on the tough eighth rolled inches from the cup on No. 8. More trouble supposedly awaited on the 13th when his approach peeled into the left bunker. He raised both arms when that dropped. And on the par-5 14th, he made a mistake by not hitting his punch wedge hard enough. It rolled down the slope, off the green and back into the fairway. Mickelson’s long chip from 90 feet banged into the pin and dropped for birdie. Mickelson missed two birdie putts from inside 10 feet. And while he hit only nine greens in regulation, he usually had a reasonable angle to the pin to save par — or make birdie, as was the case twice for him. That leaves a Sunday with plenty at stake for the leading three players. Mickelson said earlier in the week he would not accept a special exemption for the U.S. Open if he needed one. A victory at Pebble — the 45th of his career — would go a long way toward solving that. Taylor can validate his first win since his rookie season, an opposite-field event at the time. The Canadian has never been to the Masters and has played in only four majors, two as an amateur. Day, meanwhile spent most of last year injured and frustrated. He has gone nearly two years since his last win, and was in danger of falling out of range for World Golf Championships events if he didn’t starting getting better results.

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