A NEW YEAR, A NEW DAY
Problems on and off the course made for bad 2017
ORLANDO – Jason Day couldn’t wait to put 2017 behind him.
During a miserable year in which he said he was mentally stressed and burnt out, he dealt with numerous injuries, his mother was diagnosed with lung cancer (she’s recovering nicely), and his wife had a miscarriage.
On the golf course, the former world No. 1 went winless, he decided his longtime mentor and coach, Colin Swatton, would no longer carry the golf bag, and he fell from the conversation of who is the game’s best player.
“It was a good kick in the butt,” Day said.
This year he’s kicked butt. In his first start, he won his 11th PGA Tour title in the Farmers Insurance Open in a sixhole playoff against Alex Noren. Two weeks later, he tied for second in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Then he was gone to attend to family matters and rest up for a long, hard stretch of golf. Now he’s back at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which he won in 2016. His mind clear and his body sound, Day is ready to continue his fine campaign at Bay Hill, where everywhere he looks he thinks of a fond memory.
“Injuries and what happened with my mother and then other things and just really kind of struggling off the course was tough, and it really got to me last year,” Day said Wednesday after his pro-am round. “It’s hard to play competitive golf because it is such a mental grind. It’s hard to play competitive golf and focus on other things. You just can’t do it because the guys will just eat you apart, they’re just so good out here.
“Saying that, I just knew that this year was going to be a lot better. I focused on 2018 and as soon as I had the time off, I got myself mentally prepared to come out and work as hard as I can, find that desire again to want to be the best and be No. 1. And it’s worked out so far this year.”
While he hasn’t played in four weeks, Day, who is ranked No. 10 in the world, spent a solid week preparing for his return in Ponte Vedra Beach, up the road from Orlando and the home of The Players Championship.
“Obviously, you’ve got to feel good coming off the first two starts,” Day said. “When I feel balanced off course, when there’s no stress off course, it comes into my game and makes life a lot easier on the golf course. I feel mentally and physically refreshed and ready to go. I’m definitely confident in my abilities right now, but I treat every week as a new week.”
Day will start alongside Tiger Woods and Hideki Matsuyama in the first two rounds. Day and Woods have become close friends the past few years and dur- ing Day’s lost 2017, the two exchanged text messages frequently.
“He’s had some tough times,” Woods said. “It’s tough to listen to him go through all that, and he’s a friend of mine. But the kid’s tough. He can handle a lot. I think he’s shown how strong willed he is.”
Day has enjoyed watching Woods’ return to the PGA Tour.
He’ll enjoy playing with him the first two rounds. And he’ll enjoy trying to beat him.
“He’ll be out there focused and ready to go, we’ll have our chats here and there, but I’m there to do a job,” Day said. “I’ve not only got to beat him, I’ve got to beat everyone else, too. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun because I think a lot of people are excited about how Tiger’s starting to show signs in the right direction.”
As is Day.