As he nears middle-age status, Jason Day is acutely aware of the importance of this next week – and this next decade.
Jason Day turned 30 earlier this month but in many ways he seems older, such is the length of time he’s been part of the fabric of 21st century Australian golf.
The former world No.1 probably feels older, too, as he returns this week to The Australian Golf Club for the first time in 13 years. Day claimed low amateur honours at the 2004 Australian Open and shared the presentation ceremony spotlight with runner-up Stuart Appleby and third-placegetters Steven Bowditch and Rod Pampling. And standing beside them all was the champion that year.
Today, Day’s memory of that week was a little hazy, to the point that he couldn’t recall who left town that evening with the Stonehaven Cup.
“I can’t remember who actually won it, but a little bit has changed since then,” Day confessed.
The answer is Peter Lonard, who was also on-site at the Sydney club today as a recently minted 50-year-old hoping to embark on a successful senior tour career in 2018.
Age can count for as little or as much as you want in this game. For Day, he’s already feeling the heat from the next generation as he enters his fourth decade. Fellow top-ranked attraction at this Emirates Australian Open Jordan Spieth is 24, as is Cameron Smith, the unassuming Queenslander who is not without a chance of winning this week. At the other end of the spectrum is 19-year-old Min Woo Lee, who apparently has Day quaking in his Nike high-tops.
“I am a little bit scared of Min Woo, he hits it too far,” Day said before reflecting on the next wave of talent.
“I noticed on the range after my practice round yesterday, there was a kid behind me. I didn’t know his name but he hit a drive and I didn’t know he was hitting drivers, because he hit his first one and I turned around and I looked up. He was quite a big fellow, but just the sound of the ball coming off … When I was a kid, you’d never really hear that too often and now you go down the range and you just hear every kid pretty much, the sound of that, and it just sounds like it’s going a very long way.
“When I hear that and look at that, I know that I’ve got to do a lot more to try to keep up or stay in front of them. That gives me extra motivation, seeing that as well. We do have a lot of young, talented players here that just haven’t blossomed yet and I think once they do, we will have a good stable of players, not only on the PGA Tour, but in Europe and around the world as well, so I’m excited about that.”
“I know that I’ve got to do a lot more to try to keep up or stay in front of them. That gives me extra motivation, seeing that as well.” –Jason Day
All of which makes the next 10 years so important for the Queenslander. Geoff Ogilvy yesterday opined about the fine line walked by the gym-reliant golfers on tour and how players like Day and 2013 Australian Open champion Rory McIlroy have pushed themselves too far and suffered injuries while in search of a physical advantage.
“When I was a kid, we didn’t care about it, we wanted to go out and have fun and play, which is great,” Day said. “When you get to elite level, professional status, you’re trying to get that next little thing that could possibly give you the advantage over the next person. For me, I’ve kind of turned from a fattish kid that I was with chubby, baby fat, to a harder person and I think Jordan’s on the right step as well. We all have to act professional accordingly and try and do the best job that we can to get the next advantage, and that’s all we’re trying to do. Trying to slowly improve each and every year.”
And Day admits to suffering from burn-out once he ascended to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking in 2015 and 2016.
“I got burnt out, severely burnt out. I kind of exhausted myself to everyone, to the point where I just could never do what I needed to do to mentally and physically prepare for a tournament. I explained the analogy and I’m standing in the middle and I’ve got people pulling me in each different direction. I’ve got the media, I’ve got the fans, I’ve got my family, I’ve got my agent, I’ve got my coach, I’ve got a bunch of people, trying to give them time. One person pulls me this way and I give them more time, but then someone over here sacrifices.
“There’s a big balancing act that you have to do to not only try to stay balanced within yourself so you can play and compete, but also balance yourself as a person and make sure that you have enough time for yourself where you can decompress and relax and stay energised to keep pushing forward and keep playing and trying to win.
“That’s the biggest thing for me, is to learn to take a step back and learn to say ‘No’ a lot more. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better at it, but it’s always something that you have to work towards. I know that the work ethic will always be there for me and the desire will always be there to try to get back to No.1. I’ve just got to make sure that I have the balance in my life, not only in my golf life but in my personal life too, to be able to stay mentally and physically focused on that goal.”
One of Day’s playing partners in today’s pro-am was Lleyton Hewitt, who, incidentally, holed a bunker shot for a closing birdie to help their group win the pro-am competition then authored his signature tennis celebration.
“Lleyton had an amazing bunker shot on the last hole, ended up holing it for birdie out of the bunker on the last hole, and it was kind of crazy to see the old ‘Come on!’ I remember watching him as a kid dominate the circuit for a long time and it was really neat to see that.”
It was a fitting pairing, as this has been a nostalgia-filled return home for Day. Last week he ventured back to Hills International school where he “built the foundation” of his game. Trying to slide in under an alias, his ruse was quickly discovered so he opted to steer clear of the school and instead play the golf course.
It was Year 12 graduation at the school; a legion of teenagers about to venture into the world who were not long out of nappies when Day last contested his national Open at The Australian. At 30, one senses Day would himself like to graduate this weekend to the rank of Australian Open champion.
He won’t get a better chance.
