Jason Day Sets 36-Hole Record at 2016 Players Championship

Jason Day set a new Players Championship record Saturday morning by completing 36 holes with a score of 15 under.

The Golf Channel confirmed the new standard. Day, the top-ranked golfer in the world, held a four-shot lead heading into Round 3, which will begin later Saturday.

Jason Sobel of ESPN provided the star's scoring breakdown through two rounds:

Day opened the tournament with an outstanding nine-under 63 in the first round. Afterward, the 28-year-old Aussie said it was his best all-around performance he could remember, per Steve DiMeglio of USA Today.

"I can't really recall the way that I hit the ball as well as I did today, and then also putting as well as I did," Day said.

Though the conditions were a little more challenging in the second round, which was partially pushed into Saturday by rain and then darkness Friday, Day continued to thrive. He played mistake-free golf en route to a six-under 66 and maintained his place atop the leaderboard.

ESPN Stats & Info pointed out history suggests he'll win the event:

The early success at TPC Sawgrass represents a sharp turnaround for Day. Last year, he missed the cut after a second-round 81. He missed the cut in his next start at the Memorial Tournament, too.

Since then, however, nobody on the PGA Tour has been more effective. Day won four tournaments, including his first major at the 2015 PGA Championship, in his final nine starts last season and finished no worse than tied for 12th.

He's parlayed that into a strong start to the current campaign, with two more victories already under his belt. And based on the way he's played through the first two rounds at the Players, he's the favorite to add another triumph to that total Sunday afternoon.