Jason Day holds on to win Wells Fargo Championship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jason Day birdied two of his final three holes Sunday (Monday Manila time) for a 2-under 69 and a two-shot victory over Aaron Wise and Nick Watney in the Wells Fargo Championship, his second victory this year.

After squandering a three-shot lead on the back nine, Day rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole and then effectively won the tournament when his tee shot on the 230-yard 17th hole crashed into the flagstick and settled 3 feet away. He was the only player to make birdie on No. 17 at Quail Hollow in the final round, and it staked him to a two-shot lead.

Wise, a PGA Tour rookie, saved par on his last two holes for a 68. Watney made a 59-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 69 and his best finish in three years.

Day finished at 12-under 272 and returns to the top 10 in the world.

Tiger Woods was never a factor. He failed to make birdie in the final round of a PGA Tour event for only the second time in his career, and the first since the Cadillac Championship at Doral in 2014. Woods closed with a 74 and finished 14 shots behind.

Even with a two-shot lead going into the final round, it was a struggle for Day. He missed for straight fairways on the back nine, two of them with an iron, one of them hooking into the water on No. 14 that led to bogey.

He called it "one of the best wins I have ever had."

"I felt like I went 10 rounds out there just fighting against myself," Day said.

He won for the 12th time in his career.