AKRON, Ohio _ Jason Day, the world's No. 1-ranked player who entered the day with a one-stroke lead, was vulnerable during Saturday's third round of the Bridgestone Invitational.
He repeatedly broke the cardinal sin of Firestone South _ don't miss the fairways off the tee _ and spent most of the day scrambling to save par instead of collecting birdie chances.
But Day did it well enough to shoot a 1-under 69 that put him in a tie for the lead with Scott Piercy at 5 under for the tournament and set up a tight final round on Sunday.
Through the 16th hole, Day had hit only one fairway and was ranked last in the field in driving accuracy. If there was a time for the field to jump on the world's top-ranked player, it was Saturday. But Day held his own enough to retain a share of the lead and keep his name atop the leaderboard.
"I think obviously the short game saved me, but mentally I was just trying to grind and grind and grind because I thought if I can somehow get something in and give myself an opportunity for tomorrow, (I'll have a chance)," Day said. "It's very easy to just (be) hitting the positions that I hit it today and sit there and go, 'Well, it's just not my day or not my week,' and kind of switch off a little bit. But I didn't want to allow myself to switch off mentally."
Piercy fired a 3-under 67 to put him in a tie for the lead and in the final grouping with Day. He chipped in for an eagle on the par-5 second hole, birdied Nos. 11 and 17 and sunk a 35-foot putt to save par on No. 14. His lone bogey came on No. 18, which would have given him the outright lead.
Piercy, who recently finished in a tie for second at the U.S. Open, ranked No. 7 in the field on Saturday by hitting eight fairways. To him, the putt on No. 14 was just as positive of an omen.
"I drove the ball well to start. Everything was just pretty solid today," he said. "I drove it well, hit my irons well, put it in the right spots and the chip-in on (No. 2) was really nice out of the bunker. The par save at (No. 14) was awesome. I hadn't really made a putt of length this week. Hopefully get the putter working, keep striking it well and have a good chance tomorrow, I think."
He'll have to do it playing side-by-side with the world's top-ranked player. Day and Piercy have been together in the final group before, as they went head-to-head in the final round of the 2015 BMW Championship. Day got the better of Piercy, besting him by one stroke with a 2-under.
"(Do I) change anything? No," Piercy said. "It's a tough golf course. You've got a lot to worry about on the golf course. You don't need to worry about whoever you're playing with."
David Lingmerth entered the third round trailing by a stroke and equaled Day's 1-under 69 to hold that position, now alone in third place and a shot off the lead at 4 under.
"You know, Saturday of a big golf tournament, playing with the world No. 1, and I felt comfortable all day," Lingmerth said after being paired with Day for the third round. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I think I played a lot better today really than I did yesterday.
" ... It's playing pretty tough, and you can't be greedy out there, but I feel like I'm in better control now than I was yesterday, and tomorrow is going to be a lot of fun."
Brian Stuard, in his first Bridgestone Invitational appearance, shot a 3-under 67 to place him alone in fourth at 3 under for the tournament.
U.S. Open champion and world No. 3 Dustin Johnson carded four birdies on the front nine and had the best round of the day with a 4-under 66, placing him at 2 under for the tournament and only three strokes off the lead. Charl Schwartzel (3-under 67) and William McGirt (even-par 70) each stand at 2 under for the tournament as well.
Seven players enter the final round within three strokes of the lead, and 11 players are within five strokes, all chasing Day and Piercy. In the last five tournaments in which Day has held at least a share of the 54-hole, he's gone on to win.
"If you go out and shoot _ if you're even-par and you shoot a decent score tomorrow _ it just depends how they set it up," Day said. "Anyone that's kind of even-par, under-par has a good chance. I'm hoping not. I'm hoping I just blow it away. That's the plan, but unfortunately sometimes it doesn't work that way."
