As if anyone needed reminding, Jason
Day showed again at the 98^th PGA Championship why he is the world’s
highest ranked player.

At three behind with one hole to
play, the Queenslander looked all but out of the tournament but produced one of
the most electric finishes in Major Championship history to almost pull off an
upset.

Day smashed a 2-iron off the tee at
the par-5 18^th and followed up with the shot of the week, the same
club flying 254 yards (232 metres) to nestle just 13 feet from the hole.

Naturally, Day holed the eagle putt
to get to 13-under for the week and slash Jimmy Walker’s lead to just one shot.

While Walker went on to make the par
he needed to claim the title, he paid tribute to Day in his post round remarks
saying he expected nothing less of the World Number 1.

"I really like Jason," Walker said.
"He’s a quality guy and it’s been fun to watch what he’s been doing with golf
over the last year and a half. Wouldn’t expect anything less."

Day’s spectacular finish saw him
come within one shot of becoming only the second player in history, after Tiger
Woods, to successfully defend the year’s final Major.

While he came up just short he
showed again at Baltusrol the qualities that have taken him to the top of the
game and they are more than just his world class golf game.

Despite limited preparation and
being unwell early in the week, Day fought hard over every shot to give himself
a chance to win, a characteristic he has displayed more than once this year.

While Day was undoubtedly the best
performer among the Australians in New Jersey the week was a big success.

Eight of the nine Australians who
earned a place in the field qualified for the weekend and three finished inside
the top-20.

Adam Scott posted his second top-20
of the year in the Grand Slam events and while it is far from a poor
performance he likely won’t be satisfied.

With two wins early in the season,
including a WGC title, 2016 looked a prime year for Scott to claim a second
Major and he will be displeased not so much that he didn’t add to his tally but
that he never gave himself a genuine chance.

John Senden finished at the same
mark as Scott but will feel more positive about his performance in his only
Major appearance of 2016.

The sweet swinging Queenslander has
been in indifferent from for much of 2016 and to produce three sub par rounds
over the four days was encouraging.

Scott Hend, too, will take
confidence from his play at Baltusrol in his first appearance at the PGA
Championship.

An opening round 68 had him inside
the top-10 after one day and it was only a disappointing Sunday 72 that dropped
him to T42.

With an appearance at the Olympics
in Rio just weeks away, Hend has plenty of motivation to keep the good form
rolling.

The rejuvenated Aaron Baddeley was
next best among the Australians and the last to finish under for the week, his
1-under total good for T49.

Baddeley showed glimpses of the form
which saw him claim the Barbasol Championship four weeks ago and saved his best
till last.

A final round of 2-under 68 saw the
dual Australian Open winner climb nine places up the leaderboard on the final
day and he will head to the upcoming FedEx Cup playoffs in a positive frame of
mind.

Not quite so upbeat will be fellow
Victorian Marc Leishman who put himself in good position to advance up the
leaderboard through three rounds.

At 3-under the one time PGA TOUR
winner had an opportunity to climb up the standings with a solid final round
but instead moved the other way with a 74.

His eventual result of T60 is less
than he is capable of but having played all four majors this year and making
the cut in three he will eagerly await next year’s Masters.

Marcus Fraser and Matt Jones were
the final two Australians to play the weekend, Fraser struggling both days with
72-73 after an impressive performance to make the cut.

The 38-year-old suggested before the
tournament got underway that he would find the going tough because of the
course’s length but his play over the first two rounds was impressive.

Jones’s effort was equally gritty
after he opened with a 74 to be well outside the cut line but played his way
back into the tournament with a Friday 68.

Struggling with his form for much of
the year, the Sydneysider will consider the week a positive despite a final
round 73 which dropped him 13 places in the standings.

Greg Chalmers was the only Australian to miss the cut,
a poor start Thursday when he opened with a 2-over 72 compounded by a Friday 76
to be near the tail of the field.