ROCHESTER | Jason Day has been through some dark times over the past few years. Intoxicated by the hunger for victory and the thirst for world domination from 2014 to 2018, he almost gave up and ended his career not too long ago. His win in Texas last weekend confirmed he made the right choice. The goal of continuing to keep up with the world elite.
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He hadn’t won since the Wells Fargo Championship in May 2018 in Quail Hollow, North Carolina. Almost five years later, to the day, he was able to celebrate victory again. The 35-year-old Australian could imagine her without knowing that one day she would come.
Since May 2018, the athlete, who was then boasting 12 professional titles in his career, has overcome personal hardship and suffered from injuries.
His adoring mother, who always supported him during his youth marked by his father’s absence, encouraged him to excel. She breathed her last in early spring 2022 after a long battle with cancer.
Survive tournaments
Day, slowed down by severe back pain, tried to keep up the pace during this time. Indeed, until he decided to listen to his body rather than keep pushing the machine. For the second time in his career, he considered stopping it all.
“I tried to get through the weeks of competition. I didn’t play the practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday. “I competed in the Pro-Am on Wednesday and then tried to last through the first two laps,” said the athlete, who was trying to hit the minimum as part of his contractual arrangements.
“If I resisted the axe, I said to myself, ‘All the better,’ otherwise my formula wasn’t entirely successful,” he continued. This is my mental state.
“I had not only psychological, but also physical stress. I had serious doubts about my ability to ever be in top form and win again.
With the help of health professionals and the physical and mental preparation, Day has progressed over the years. His hard work, patience and resilience were rewarded with his triumph at the Byron Nelson Classic last weekend.
Manage expectations
Yesterday, in a press conference days after his win at the start of the PGA of America Championship, Day opened up about his setbacks over the past few years and said he didn’t want to project himself too far. A sign of experience and maturity. He stays in the present moment because in the past he always got carried away and expected great things.
“I’m trying to cool the engine down a bit as I’m going to be in a big tournament this week. I need to revise my expectations. I need to see the bigger picture and continue the work of the past two years. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Tired since arriving in Rochester, he stopped participating in the practice laps on the east course from Oak Hill. He preferred to rest to be mentally ready for the exam.
After winning the Wanamaker Trophy on the fairways of the impressive Whistling Straits course, which he dominated in 2015, the friendly Australian arrived in Rochester with a record of six top 10 finishes in his last ten games.
A jump of 20 ranks
His win at TPC Craig Ranch put him 20th in the world rankings. His good performances in 2023 also credited him with almost a hundred positions when he finished 112th level at the end of 2022.
“I’ve been happy with my game since last fall. I am setting the right assumptions on my long journey, having experienced great difficulties. Those were probably the most difficult years of my career.
“To see at the end of the tunnel that I’ve been working on the right things, that I’ve found consistency and self-confidence, that’s very good.
“It’s nice to know that I can still play well and compete at the professional level. I want to continue and if I manage to get back to the top of the world rankings, I hope to stay there longer.”
105e PGA OF AMERICA CHAMPIONSHIP
- Trip : Oak Hill Country Club, east course
- Architects: Donald Ross (1925)
- Renovation : Andrew Green (2019)
- Defending Champion: JustinThomas
- Total budget ($2.7 million for the champion): $15M
- courtyards: 7394
- Normal: 70
- This is how often the winner of the Masters went on to win the second major of the season: 1953 (Ben Hogan), 1960 (Arnold Palmer), 1972 (Jack Nicklaus), 2002 (Tiger Woods), 2015 (Jordan Spieth)
- Only golfer to finish in the top 20 in each of the last four Grand Slam tournaments: Xander Schauele
- Longest active streak to reach finals: 12 by Francesco Molinari
- Last champion to overtake the competition from start to finish: Brooks Koepka (2019)
- Longest lap streak under 70: 9 (Dustin Johnson from 2018 to 2020)
8:33 a.m
- Jon Rahm
- Matt Fitzpatrick
- CameronSmith
1:25 p.m
- Cameron Young
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Hideki Matsuyama
2015
Last edition where victory eluded the Americans who have dominated since 2016. Australia’s Jason Day then took the trophy in Whistling Straits. The longest American streak dates back to 1989 when a tenth consecutive American won the Wanamaker.
4
Woody Austin was penalized for pocketing too many clubs in Round 2 of the 2013 Championship here at Oak Hill. He missed the cleaver by two shots.
XANDER SHOVELS
29 years | UNITED STATES
- Presence: 7e
- Best result: 10e (2020)
- Top 10 of this season: 8th
- Bird Watching Rate on Par 4: 19.67% (22nde)
- Rate to save par around the green: 65.3% (27the)
JOHN RAHM
28 years | Spain
- Presence: 7e
- Best result: 4e (2018)
- Wins this season: 4
- Bird Watching Rate on Par 4: 24.18% (1stum)
- avg approaching 175 to 200 yards: 29.4 feet (3e)
BROOKS KOEPKA
33 years | UNITED STATES
- Presence: 11e
- Best result: Winner 2018 and 2019
- Top 10 of this season: 4 (9 tournaments)
- Best Laps in the PGA Championship: 63 (2 times)
PATRICK CANTLAY
31 years | UNITED STATES
- Participation: 7e
- Best result: 3e (2019)
- Top 10 of this season: 6
- Bird Watching Rate on Par 4: 23.38% (3rde)
- Average points in the championship: 70.86
Rochester Express
DJ SIGNS A FUNNY MOMENT
There are pearls like this at press conferences for golfers. Yesterday Dustin Johnson posted one that caused writers to laugh and left us speechless afterwards. DJ opened up about his slow start to the season and vaguely explained that he picked up a back injury over the winter. A colleague tried to find out the reason by listing two possibilities: a painful swing or picking up a child in his arms.
With a smile, DJ revealed a third option without naming: “Let’s say I picked up a slightly bigger kid.”
From this it can be concluded that it is a child who is more like 34 years old and who is very active on social networks with seductive outfits: her wife Paulina Gretzky!
Although he hasn’t always been the most interesting in front of the press in recent years, Johnson has always shown plenty of class. He didn’t break his habit yesterday.
Shoes force Casey to retreat
They were 18 representatives of LIV Golf on the official championship board. You are 16 now and starting this morning. Following Martin Kaymer’s retirement last week, Paul Casey also retired with a toe and knee injury.
The Englishman has been trying out new boots for some time which would have aggravated his injury. He is missing the tournament for the second year in a row as back pain forced him to stay on the sidelines in Tulsa last year. In 2021 and 2022 he had landed in the top 5.
The 45-year-old golfer received an invitation from the competition committee for his performance in the championship, which was his 20th appearance.
A ROAD TRIP TO ROCHESTER?
Tickets are still available for all four rounds of the championship. Oak Hill is just a 5.5 hour drive from Montreal and offers you the opportunity to experience the very best in world golf at work on a spectacular golf course. For those interested, tickets range from $195 to $210. The 20 and 401 in Canada takes us to the Thousand Islands border crossing and offers great views of the river. Continue on Interstate 81 to Interstate 90 in Syracuse. The show is worth that “machine” ride, as the ancestors said.