Following his drought-breaking $2.6 million win at the Byron Nelson in Texas, Jason Day has made a raw admission about just how close he came to giving it all away.
Since his last win at the Wells Fargo some 1834 days ago, Day has been dealing with numerous back injuries which forced him into making wholesale swing changes.
Then last March came the death of his mother. It was nearly the catalyst for an early retirement.
“To be honest, I was very close to calling it quits. I never told my wife that, but I was okay with it, just because it was a very stressful part of my life,” Day said after the round.
But he stuck it out, and broke his PGA Tour duck with a fairytale win on Mother’s Day.
Day finished a shot ahead of Si Woo Kim and Austin Eckroat.
“I just knew there was just too many opportunities for guys to come in and steal the win away from me. Even though I gained the lead on 12, I just knew that 14 and 15 were crucial.”
Starting the day two shots back, Day made four birdies in a sensational front nine, and took the lead by chipping in for another birdie on the 12th and didn’t look back.
Even with the predicted rain beginning to fall as he played the 17th hole, Day remained calm to finish par-birdie to card a bogey-free nine-under 62 to finish the tournament at 23-under.
He said it wasn’t until he had only three holes to play he started thinking about victory.
“I didn’t think I had a chance to win until I birdied 14 and 15,” he told media including Wide World of Sports.
His pregnant wife Ellie and his four kids followed him the whole way around the course. Day said having them there made this his most special of his 13 wins.
Instead of wearing the names of their players, caddies wore the first names of their player’s mum during the final round. Day later admitted the emotions were enough to bring him to tears.
“It’s been over five years since I’ve won and our family has expanded … [and] it’s that much more special to be able to have the family with me,” he said.
“For Ellie to see me win on Mother’s Day to have my mum’s name on caddie bib, it’s a very, very special win that I’ll remember for a very long time.”
Day’s injury and subsequent recovery, as well as his mother’s death, saw him fall outside the top-150 in the world rankings.
“It’s been a struggling few years … five years since my last win so to be able to get the win the way I’ve played today was really special,” Day said after the round.
Day said it had been a “non-stop grind” to get back to the top.
“I’ve had a lot of injuries with my back and for a moment there I thought I wasn’t going to play again, and then just trying to get through those two years [where] trying to get through a tournament was difficult.
“So to be on the other side, to be healthy and feeling good about my game, and finally winning again, there’s no better feeling really.”
Adam Scott also shot a bogey-free eight-under to move up the leaderboard into a tie for eighth, just four shots back.
Source: Nine