Jason Day speaks with media on the Presidents Cup Tuesday.
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We’ve all been trying at Jason Day quite a bit this 12 months — the person incomes extra consideration for his garments than his play — however have you ever been listening to him? He’s sneakily been probably the greatest quotes in professional golf, not essentially for unraveling information or clues about the place the sport goes, however leaving us with honesty about the place he’s been. And we’ve all been higher off due to it.
The world’s finest golfers are repeatedly set in entrance of microphones after good rounds to discuss their birdie on the 14th, the ruling on the seventh, or just what it was like enjoying in the identical group as that Adam Scott 63. These periods are not often therapeutic. They’re extra typically handled as a dragging obligation, the place the faster and less complicated one solutions, the faster it’ll be over and less complicated it’ll be. (Is that this as a result of questions, or the frequency of those conferences? Maybe.) However within the face of them Jason Day has been magnificent currently, treating them as alternatives to work by way of his ideas. To not rush to the following query. To embrace follow-ups. To easily … share.
It harkens again to the Olympics, two months in the past, when Day was representing Australia. He was overcome with emotion on the primary day of the competitors and was shocked how nervous he was trying down and seeing the colours on his chest.
“It’s superb, we’re not enjoying for cash this week clearly. We’re enjoying for a medal and also you’re right here for sort of enjoying totally free,” he mentioned. “However my level is, is that prefer it feels completely completely different. That is essentially the most I’ve felt nervous standing on a tee field carrying a set of garments that I’m carrying for the primary time.”
Day was studying one thing about himself in that second and wasn’t afraid to inform the world about it. In return, we realized one thing about him we hadn’t recognized. That is the last word payoff of talking with media — telling your story, including layers of context to all the things we all know — and one which will get misplaced within the age of social media, the place gamers can management the narrative of their careers to their liking. When it got here to Day and the Olympics, we knew he missed out in 2021, and we knew he elected to not compete in 2016, citing considerations concerning the Zika virus. However did we all know he regrets it?
Day shared that throughout the Olympics, too.
“On the time, I feel I used to be like No. 1 or 2 on this planet,” Day mentioned, “and I feel I used to be like to some extent the place I used to be sort of burnt out, and the very last thing on my thoughts was representing Australia within the Olympics.
“Trying again on it, I ought to’ve simply sucked it up and gone down and performed. I feel in that case, it could have been a fantastic expertise for me to go down there and characterize one thing that’s greater than you.”
We don’t must fawn like loopy over a golfer who’s sharing his reality, however at its core this can be a human simply acknowledging a mistake. A change in opinion. In a world the place flip-flopping is commonly thought to be sin, there could be room for us to embrace it a bit extra. As time has passed by, Day’s eyes have widened, and his ego isn’t so large that he can’t point out it out loud.
This week, Day is competing in his fifth Presidents Cup, making him one of the vital skilled gamers on the Worldwide aspect. Solely Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama have performed in additional. And on Tuesday, he was pushed in entrance of the mic once more, and responded by sharing extra hindsight of his personal Presidents Cup journey.
“I feel in my youthful day I didn’t actually look in direction of the Presidents Cup as one thing that I needed to play in as a result of it’s such a person sport, and I by no means actually cared an excessive amount of to play within the Presidents Cup as a result of all I cared about was enjoying on the PGA Tour and attempting to win,” Day mentioned. “Clearly the Olympics sort of opened my eyes somewhat bit to know that it’s somewhat bit greater than your self. To be part of the Presidents Cup crew — look, if I play one match, I’m going to do the very best I can. I’m simply right here for the crew to attempt to help them the very best I can. In the event that they play me 5 instances, then I’m able to go 5 instances. I don’t care how a lot it’s.”
Why Day wasn’t capable of lean all the way in which in to this bi-annual crew occasion — the place gamers aren’t competing for prize cash nor particular person accolades — definitely has to do with him. But when he can stroll down reminiscence lane a bit, he felt like he was following the trail paved by Worldwide teammates round him.
“Simply assume again after I first began out, I used to be fairly gung ho about it,” he mentioned. “And I felt like there are some guys that simply didn’t fairly have the drive as a lot as a number of the different guys. When not all working in direction of a aim, then it hurts.
“Then you definitely quick ahead to a number of the different ones, I didn’t have as a lot drive as a number of the different guys, and that sort of hurts the entire crew setting. You’ve received to have all the blokes pushing in direction of that aim of attempting to win the Cup.”
This is able to hardly be the primary time we’ve heard gamers admit to struggling to get hyped for a crew match play occasion on the finish of a protracted season of particular person stroke play. However that it comes now, on the eve of that crew match play occasion, units the stage for Day’s total week, and he didn’t must volunteer that information.
Day continued elaborating the purpose, even citing the 2015 Cup, in Korea, as one which he wasn’t up for. You recognize, that Cup that was determined by the ultimate match, the place the Internationals very practically gained. Why is that this info vital, all these years later?
As a result of “I feel that hurts the crew setting,” Day mentioned. “I can’t be there saying, Hey, these guys didn’t drive and I’m doing the very same factor, come a pair years later.”
It’s fairly clear that Day plans on being a greater Presidents Cupper shifting ahead. However on account of sharing his journey with the Cup, we are able to all perceive him higher, too. On a macro stage, each time he turns into a captain, and on a micro stage, when he reacts to his play this week. If he performs poorly, it’s going to shade his feelings even higher. If he performs nice and leads his crew to an upset victory, there’s your Hollywood ending. Merely, followers will know him even higher. And to maintain the nice vibes practice chugging alongside, the questions he receives from media afterward can be even higher. We will solely hope the honesty tour continues then. It’s a really enjoyable experience.
