Jason Day sputtered at the start and finally hit his stride for a four-under 67 to build a two-shot lead going into the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship and a chance for his second victory this year.

Peter Uihlein, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy all showed early on Saturday that it was a softer, gentler Quail Hollow under an overcast sky. Uihlein had a 62, one off the course record, and finished before the leaders began the third round. He remained atop the leaderboard until midway through the round. Mickelson had a 64, his lowest score of the season. McIlroy had to settle for a 66.

Day blasted a nine iron out of the left rough with the wind at his back from 195 yards to 18 inches on the 9th for his first birdie, and the Australian was on his way. He had five birdies over the last 10 holes and made a daring par on the 18th. With his bare feet in the stream and the ball on the bank well above his feet, he hit a full shot to the back of the green for a two-putt par. Day was at 10 under on 203.

Nick Watney overcame a double bogey on the par-five 10th with four birdies over his last six holes for a 66. He will be in the final group for the first time in nearly four years as he tries to win for the first time since a back injury two years ago.

Tiger Woods failed to take advantage of a course that was 228 yards shorter and soft enough that the players actually found pitch marks on the greens. Woods finally got going on the back nine with three straight birdies but a three-putt bogey on the final hole gave him a 68. He was nine shots behind.

Peter Malnati’s 36-hole lead did not last long. He had a pair of double bogeys, shot 75 and fell seven shots behind, while the PGA Tour rookie Aaron Wise nearly had a collapse late until he salvaged a most unlikely bogey.

Wise, the NCAA champion from Oregon two years ago, pulled his approach left of the 18th green. It bounded over the stream to the other side. With his ball on a sharp downslope a few feet from the rock-framed banks of the stream, he considered a penalty drop that would have taken double bogey out of the picture. Instead, he tried a flop shot and his wedge slid under the ball for a whiff.

He hit the next one across the green to 40 feet, and knocked that in for bogey. Two bogeys over the last three holes gave him a 70.

“That was going to be a devastating hole,” he said. “So to turn it into a bogey ... it gives me a shot tomorrow.”

Day is in charge but not in the clear. He has won four out of five times when he has had the 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour, and it helps that he does not have too much experience behind him. Watney has not won in nearly six years. Uihlein, who has still not won on the PGA Tour, wound up three shots behind at seven under 206. Also three shots back were Bryson DeChambeau (66), Paul Casey (69) and Wise.

Mickelson was among those four shots behind. Rickie Fowler might have been closer than six shots if not for a four-putt double bogey from 20 feet on the 17th. McIlroy, meanwhile, was seven behind.