HUGGAN’S ALLEY: JOHN HUGGAN
IHAVE to be honest here: I’m more than a little bit fed up with Jason Day. It’s been a while since the former World No.1 – emphasis on former – has played anything like a man capable of attaining that elevated status. A glance at his record on the 2018-19 PGA Tour season reveals a few of the ‘top-10s’ that people like me habitually and lazily use to illustrate how ‘consistent’ or otherwise a golfer has been. There are also five missed cuts and one withdrawal. All in 21 starts that have seen the former – there’s that word again – Queenslander now resident in Columbus, Ohio slip and slide his way outside the planet’s top-20 golfers. That isn’t what irritates me though. Day is hardly the first elite player to spend an extended period performing at something less than full capacity, which is exactly what he has been doing. Failing to qualify for the seasonending Tour Championship was just the full stop at the end of a pretty depressing sentence, one devoid of exclamation marks. But that’s golf. No. Amongst other things we’ll get to by the end of this column, I’m tired of all the pseudointellectual nonsense that tends to emanate from Day’s verbal orifice in the wake of yet another mediocre week out on the links. Few on Tour are more expert at talking gibberish in ever-decreasing circles, going nowhere other than metaphorically up his own backside, in a vain search for an explanation as to his relative failings. Most of the time I have no idea what he is blathering on about. I’d be surprised if anyone else does either. He makes little sense.
Then there are the seemingly never-ending caddie sagas. During the period when he was playing golf good enough to win a major championship and accumulate 11 other victories on the Tour that has become his home, Day had Col Swatton on his bag. A close friend, mentor and swing coach, Swatton was clearly just the sort of genial father-figure the now 31-year old needed to produce his best stuff.
But all good things etc. Since easing Swatton out of the picture, Day has employed close friends to carry his bag and provide the sort of ego-massaging many leading players seem to enjoy. That worked reasonably well, too. Recently, however, there was a brief and apparently friction-packed six-tournament run with the despicable Steve Williams by his side.
In retrospect that was never going to work, the size of the respective egos an obvious issue. And it didn’t. When last seen at the Open Championship this year, the not-so dynamic duo were receding into the middle distance while engaged in what was clearly a somewhat animated discussion. Which wasn’t surprising. Day had just dropped five shots in his last six holes to shoot a second round 74 that saw him miss the halfway cut by one. No wonder he felt no need to speak to the waiting media.
Okay, time-out. The real point of this screed is to give Ernie Els – non-playing captain of the International squad that will attempt to rest the Presidents Cup from the United States at Royal Melbourne later this year – some advice: don’t pick Jason Day. There, I’ve said it. Now, before we go any further, let it be known that I am well aware that Day, in conjunction with Adam Scott, won the 2013 World Cup of Golf for Australia at Royal Melbourne. So he knows the course and is capable of playing well there.
But that was then.
More relevant is Day’s record when wearing the International squad’s colours. In four appearances, he has managed to win only five of his 20 matches, losing 11 and halving four. In singles, Day’s record is two wins and two losses. Not bad, but not great when you look at who he has played. Hunter Mahan, Brandt Snedeker, Zach Johnson and Charley Hoffman are good, but not exactly world-beaters. Such paltry points gathering surely isn’t something that should encourage Els to deal the Australian a wildcard.
One last thing. At a time when pace of play has finally become worthy of at least consideration by the PGA and European Tours, Day’s arrogance – “I don’t really care what people say” – and snail-like qualities remain head-shakingly obdurate. And, wouldn’t you know, we will get the chance to watch him take an age to hit every shot at this year’s Australian Open.
Amazingly, Day will be at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney rather than teeing-up in Tiger’s boondoggle in the Bahamas. I fear that means Els has already told Day he will be playing at Royal Melbourne the following week. For Big Easy, read “big mistake.”