Just a few months ago, all the talk was about a new rivalry at the top of golf's world rankings between Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, but golf fans can now look forward to what should be an ongoing three-way battle to be the game's best.
Jason Day's six-shot victory in the BMW Championship catapulted the Australian to the number one spot in the world on the back of a remarkable run of form in recent weeks.
Since suffering back-to-back missed cuts at the Players Championship and the Memorial Tournament, Day has been in red-hot form after finishing tied ninth in the U.S. Open, where he suffered from vertigo and performed commendably to even finish the tournament.
He was then tied fourth at The Open at St. Andrews, won the Canadian Open and was tied 12th at the Bridgestone Invitational before winning his first Major title at the PGA Championship. He followed that up by taking the first event in the FedEx Cup playoffs -- the Barclays -- and, after a tied 12th spot in the Deutsche Bank Championship, he romped to glory in the BMW.
Day has always promised plenty and he is now delivering on that potential to raise the prospect of a decade-long battle for supremacy at the top of the rankings.
McIlroy's 2015 has been hampered by the ankle ligament injury he suffered just before The Open. However, his fourth-place finish at the BMW hinted the Northern Irishman is on his way back to his best. It shouldn't be forgotten either that he had already won three times in 2015 prior to his injury -- at the Dubai Desert Classic, in the WGC-Cadillac Match Play, and in the Wells Fargo.
Spieth, meanwhile, mopped up the first two majors of the year and briefly replaced McIlroy as world number one before now slipping down to third. Spieth has struggled in the FedEx Cup playoffs, missing the cut in the opening two events before a share of 13th at the BMW after a couple of poor weekend rounds following a promising opening two days.
But, while he may be ending the season with something of a whimper, Day is finishing in the complete opposite fashion to show 2016 is going to be a year to really look forward to when all three of golf's best players can hopefully compete against each other on a regular basis.
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