World number one Jason Day managed to overcome several mistakes during his third round to retain a share of the lead going into the final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio.

Day, 1.80 to win the event, only managed to hit three of 14 fairways as his shots off the tee continued to go wayward.

The Australian looked to have got off to a perfect start with a birdie on his first hole, but he continued to make sloppy errors.

However, his short game saved him as he recorded a one-under 69 to join Scott Piercy at the top of the leaderboard on five-under par.

Piercy looked to have gone the entire round without a bogey but he hit a poor drive on the last to sign for a 67.

Sweden’s David Lingmerth is alone in third, while Brian Stuard is just a shot further back in fourth on three-under par.

US Open winner Dustin Johnson charged up the leaderboard with a round of 66 – the lowest of the day – and he is joined on two-under by Charl Schwartzel and William McGirt.

Although the chasing pack are hot on his heels, Day is confident his mental game will stand up to the test.

He told the PGATour.com: “That’s the times where you learn the mental toughness of the game.

“I think I showed a lot of mental toughness today. I’m positive about (Sunday) because I’m tied for the lead and I haven’t hit it great over the past two days.”