Coming off his first victory in 5 years, a win Jason Day thought may by no means come, the 35-year-old Australian is doing his finest to maintain expectations in examine coming into the PGA Championship.
Then once more, as soon as fearing his profession is perhaps over, the previous No. 1 participant on the planet can draw upon the low moments from his current previous to maintain him grounded at Oak Hill this week.
“I think it’s funny. After I won the tournament, it didn’t feel like much at all, and I say that in the most respectful way,” Day mentioned Wednesday, referring to rallying from a remaining spherical two-shot deficit to win the Byron Nelson final weekend.
“I think it’s more about the actual journey,” he added. “Winning last week was a good step in the right direction in regards to knowing that the consistent work that I put in was yielding good play. All it had to to do was kind of show itself.”
It is, maybe, a brand new Day.
In profitable his thirteenth PGA Tour occasion, and first because the Wells Fargo in May 2018, Day has lastly shaken the again issues which led to a gradual decline in his recreation since 2015-2016, when he mixed for eight titles. The two-year stretch included Day profitable his first and solely main, the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, the place he turned the primary participant to complete a significant at 20-under par or higher.
After profitable two extra occasions in 2018, Day endured a four-year stretch wherein he registered simply 16 top-10 finishes and missed the minimize 29 occasions in 79 occasions.
The backside fell out a little bit over a 12 months in the past, when Day plunged to a hundred and seventy fifth within the rankings. Life was simply as troublesome off the course, the place Day mourned his mom, who died final 12 months following a prolonged battle with lung most cancers.
“I was not only struggling mentally, but struggling physically, and there was a lot of doubt in my mind to think that I would ever come back and be able to win again,” acknowledged Day, who enters the weekend ranked twentieth. “At one point I was sitting there going, OK, well, I didn’t know if this was kind of the end for me.”
To win on Mother’s Day was poignant sufficient. What the victory additionally did was validate the hints of progress Day started to see in his recreation because the 2022-23 season started in September.
In 16 tournaments, he’s loved seven top-10 finishes — probably the most since he had 10 in 2016 — and missed the minimize simply 3 times, versus doing so 16 occasions over his earlier 41 tournaments.
“It’s like anything, once the momentum train starts, it takes a while to get things going. But once it starts, it starts to go pretty fast,” he mentioned. “And if you can stay on that train for a little bit, that momentum can take you on to better things.”
Gratifying because it was to win, what additionally struck Day final weekend was the outpouring of assist he obtained from fellow golfers.
Among them was Tiger Woods, who has fashioned a friendship with Day, with the 2 encouraging one another whereas coping with their respective well being points. Woods’ profession has been sidetracked by a rash of accidents, the newest involving him having ankle surgical procedure final month.
“I can’t say what he said because a lot of it was like F-words,” Day mentioned with fun in referring to Woods’ celebratory textual content messages.
Dustin Johnson, now enjoying on the rival LIV Golf circuit, is aware of first hand how good Day can play in having competed with him as an beginner within the 2000s, and once more on the PGA Tour.
“He was one of the best players in the word. It’s good to see him back in good form and playing some good golf,” Johnson mentioned Wednesday.
The key now for Day is to stay affected person, which explains his strategy this week.
Though unfamiliar with Oak Hill, Day elected in opposition to taking any apply rounds to preserve his power. Mentally, he’s focusing solely on the primary spherical and never the rising expectations he might entertain coming off a victory.
“It’s in my nature to expect bigger and better things, so I’m just trying to cool the jets on that,” he mentioned, acknowledging how a lot of a psychological lure excessive expectations had been to him within the current previous.
“That was probably the hardest couple of years that I’ve had in regards to my competitive life,” Day mentioned. “I think this time I’m trying to do it in a different way. I’m trying to be a lot more grateful for the opportunity that I have just because of what I’ve gone through.”