Day: Unfavorable draw has kept Big 4 out of contention at Royal Troon

The Open was supposed to be about Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Dustin Johnson. The Big Four. Instead, it's been about Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson.

And Day wants to explain.

It's simple, according to the world No. 1: blame the conditions, not the golfers.

"Rory, Jordan, and myself are in the other wave, so that has a lot to do with it," Day said, according to ESPN.

In other words, the golfers who were out Thursday and Friday morning dealt with ideal conditions. The second wave, well, didn't.

"I think the best score out of our wave was two under with Patrick Reed and Rory, and obviously the (other) wave has played great golf and that's why they're at the top of the leaderboard," Day said.

Day's not taking anything away from those atop the leaderboard; they're playing good golf. But there's luck involved, too, he added.

"You've just got to try and get yourself into contention," Day concluded.

Heading into Sunday's final round, Johnson is tied for 13th at 1-under, McIlroy is tied for 18th at even par, Day is tied for 25th at 1-over, and Spieth is tied for 50th at 5-over.