Jason Day has been talking a lot to Tiger Woods these days, and it looks like the Australian is also walking in his footsteps.
By winning the World Golf Championship-Dell Match Play on Sunday, which came the week after he was triumphant at Arnold Palmer’s tournament at Bay Hill, Day secured his sixth title triumph in his last 13 starts since the fourth week of July 2015. The only other player who has managed to achieve a similar winning percentage in recent times is Woods (four times).
The 28-year-old now heads to the Masters this week looking almost as invincible as the 14-time major champion did in his prime.
Since making his stunning debut in 2011, when he finished second to Charl Schwartzel, Day has always shown he has the game for at Augusta National. This year, he will walk down the Magnolia Lane with an added spring in his step that comes with being the No1 player in the world.
It has been a remarkable turnaround for Day, who played just five tournaments before Bay Hill this year, after having shut up shop completely following the Tour Championship. That’s just five events in 24 weeks. That stretch did not include a win, and his best finish was tied 10th. The halo around him after the sensational summer run was dimming a bit and there were murmurs of him losing his edge as he seemed to focus more on enjoying the arrival of his second child, daughter Lucy.
But when he needed to turn it on, Day did it in style. At Bay Hill, which is traditionally a very tough course on the Tour, he led wire-towire in posting 17-under par.
The match play was even better. Day could feel something in his back on the first day of practice, and against the explicit advice of his team, decided to tee it up. The back situation worsened considerably while hitting his tee shot on the 15th hole of his first round match, and there was a real danger of him pulling out of the tournament.
But he recovered in time for the second round, thanks to some brilliant work from Bubba Watson’s therapist Brian Smith, and there was no looking back.
The tee shot on the first hole in his second group match was going to be crucial in setting the tone for the match against Thongchai Jaidee. Day stepped up and hammered a 382-yard monster straight to the green on the par-4 first.
The biggest worry in the Day camp was the possibility of him playing 126 holes with a dodgy back with the Masters just round the corner, but as it happened, he needed just 101 holes to pocket the $1.62 million first prize.
It wasn’t easy for him, because what the injury did was increase the number of hours he had to put in every day in Austin. Added to his normal 90-minute warm-up and practice and the approximately four-and-a-half hours for the round, he had to fit in a two-hour physio session in the morning, and similar hours in the afternoon.
Last year, Day won four tournaments in six starts, which included the PGA Championship. If he does win the Masters, he will be halfway to another feat that only Woods has managed – claiming all four majors in succession.
After winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Day said: “I hate playing bad golf. That’s why I work really hard”.
That one comment sums up the attitude of the man and explains his success. And that is the reason why nobody should be surprised if he wins many more majors.
