PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The mighty force that is Jason Day started mounting in the summer of 2015, its strength growing from week to week.
Weathered at the end of a five-win season, however, Day slowly gathered momentum again in 2016 after a long break. Once at full strength and armed with a formidable combination of power and touch and growing confidence, Day has become the bar his colleagues are chasing.
On his best day, the Thunder from Down Under is nearly unbeatable. On an off day, he’s pretty hard to beat. These days, he’s clearly the world No. 1.
Overcoming struggles on the front nine Sunday in the final round of The Players Championship, Day won the PGA Tour’s flagship event on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass with a sparkling back nine that dashed the hopes and dreams of his pursuers. After a sloppy 38 his first nine holes that included two bogeys and no red numbers, Day made birdies on the 10th, 12th and 16th to polish off a 1-under-par 71 to finish at 15 under 273 and four shots clear of the toughest field in golf.
“I’ve never been more motivated to be No. 1 in the world. I’ve never been more motivated to try to extend that lead from No. 1 to No. 2,” said Day, who won $1.89 million to run his haul this year to a Tour-leading $5.56 million. “All the hard work that I’ve put into my game right now has paid off, but I’ve got to keep working hard to win as much as I can. ...
“(I have to) keep pushing, keep pushing, because Tiger says he’s going to kick my butt when he comes back. So I’m going to try and extend that gap, so if he does come back and he’s turned into Tiger Woods again, I’ve got to kind of watch my behind.”
Day kept the rest of the field in his rearview all week. In going wire-to-wire for the second time this season, Day, 28, toppled runner-up Kevin Chappell (69) by four. Finishing in a tie for third at 10 under were Justin Thomas (65), Matt Kuchar (68), Colt Knost (69) and Ken Duke (72).
It is Day’s third win of the year and 10th of his career. And he has won seven of his last 17 starts, a scary stretch of domination when you consider that Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott are the only players to win as many as two events during that time frame. Day’s wins have been big — his first major in the PGA Championship, the RBC Canadian Open, the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play, The Barclays and BMW Championship during the FedExCup Playoffs and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
And now The Players.
“That’s Tiger-esque, that kind of a run,” said Scott, a fellow Aussie.
“He just doesn’t have any weaknesses,” said NBC analyst Johnny Miller, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
“The guy’s obviously a freak of nature,” said Chappell, who also finished runner-up to Day at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. “Not only does he hit it the farthest, he has the best short game out here.”
“It’s no coincidence he’s No. 1 in the world,” Thomas said. “He drives it extremely far, extremely straight. He hits it to the moon, so he can access pins that most people can’t. His short game’s ridiculous. I think I’ve pretty much covered it all there when it comes to the golf. And he has a really good mental game, too, which is, I would say, more than half the battle.”
Day began the week with a 63 to equal the course record, then backed it up with a 66 to set the 36-hole tournament scoring record. In those rounds, he was 14 shots clear of playing partner and world No. 2 Spieth, who headed home after two rounds in search of his putting stroke.
After a 73 on Saturday when the Stadium’s greens became glass, Day took a four-shot lead into the final 18. He kept his nerve when his game wasn’t firing and his lead was cut to two on two occasions.
He said the most important shot of the final round was the 9-footer he made for bogey on the ninth. It was a boost of confidence at an important time. His birdie from 17 feet on the 10th put some bounce in his step.
Through all the hard work and past failures, Day has learned and gathered confidence. Now, on or off his game, he knows he can get the job done.
“I played with him one day this week in practice. You can see there’s that calmness inside him, calm confidence, and the way he’s walking around, he’s got that kind of unbeatable look about him,” Scott said. “He’s managed so far to keep that momentum going, and that’s one of the hardest things to do when you are hot like that, to keep pushing, but he has a very strong desire to achieve so much. … He’s got that ability to push himself and accomplish.”
Day will take two weeks off before returning to the Tour for Jack Nicklaus’ bash, The Memorial, which is about 30 minutes from Day’s home in Ohio.
“I look at that, 10 PGA Tour wins, and I say to myself, that’s not enough, and it isn’t enough for mem” he said. “It’s just 10. I want more than 10. I look at that, and that number is not a lot. I look at Tiger and he’s 79 or 80 or whatever it is, and Phil (Mickelson) is up there, and I’m just like, OK, I want to be able to be looked back on and know that he was one of the greats in the game. ...
“This is great to be The Players champion, but now once tonight is done and tomorrow starts, it’s another week that I have to get ready and prepare for the next tournament that’s coming up, because it’s never enough. Winning is never enough, and I’ve got to try and do it as much as I can before my time is over."
PHOTOS: PGA TOUR WINNERS IN 2015-16
