Jason Day waves to spectators through the Presidents Cup in September.
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During the last three years, loads of execs have dived into consideration for a life on LIV Golf. A few of them took it, others handed, however a lot of them at the least took it severely. They felt they needed to.
A type of gents whose identify appeared to linger within the LIV dialogue was Australian Jason Day. The previous world no. 1 held a resume much like many LIV members. He had received a serious, received quite a few occasions on the PGA Tour, was not an American, and appeared standard sufficient to captain his personal franchise.
In different phrases, he would have slot in properly alongside Martin Kaymer, Louis Oosthuizen, Cam Smith, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson — fellow worldwide major-winners who have been previous their prime {golfing} days. Day wasn’t afraid to discover these choices, both.
“I didn’t knock it again,” Day just lately mentioned in an interview with Aussie publication Code Sports activities.
“What occurred was, it was a enterprise transfer to simply go in and discover the potential of what would occur or what the value can be.”
Though he didn’t make clear when he thought-about it, Day clearly wasn’t alone on this endeavor. Loads of Tour execs who didn’t in the end depart or LIV got gives, or relative greenback quantities they’d possible obtain within the occasion of contract negotiations. On a tinier scale, these ‘enterprise strikes’ occur on a regular basis for Tour execs, who’re their very own corporations. Their brokers and managers discover most all the pieces on the desk to determine each possibility.
“My agent, who has represented plenty of guys over there, mentioned ‘Hey, I’m simply going to exit simply to see what occurs’,” Day continued.
“And I mentioned ‘No worries, I’m proud of the place I’m at, nevertheless it’s at all times good to know.‘“
Sadly for Day, what he present in response was one thing he already knew fairly properly. That his years since that unimaginable peak in 2015 have been marred an excessive amount of by damage.
“They usually mentioned, ‘We love Jason, however he’s too injured, he simply will get too many accidents,‘” Day recalled.
Maybe greater than any trendy star not named Tiger Woods, Day’s previous decade has been riddled with points. Most have been associated to his again, a nagging ailment he has labored with trainers and coaches to alleviate, even altering his swing lately with Chris Como.
Day mentioned he doesn’t blame LIV for passing on him, and it largely ended up understanding properly for all events. Day caught with the Tour and triumphed in 2023, ending a five-year winless drought on the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Importantly, he additionally maintained world rating factors and PGA Tour entry, permitting Day to play within the Paris Olympics this summer season and lead the Worldwide staff within the Presidents Cup this fall.
