Forget all of the injuries and ailments.
Forget all of the swing changes, tweaks and second-guesses.
Forget the drought. Five long years.
Sunday’s story is about mom. It was Mother’s Day, after all.
Jason Day’s mom was special. She was there for his rise. She was there for all of that mentioned above. She was there. And when Adenal “Dening” Day passed last March, it hit harder than any setback you could have on a golf course.
“I’m OK. I’m doing all right,” Day said last year at the Valspar Championship, his first event back after Adenal’s death. Pgatour.com said he was talking through tears.
“I’ll tell you what, if I was at home, I’d probably struggle even more. It’s nice to be out here with everyone, and I’ve had a lot of love from the guys.
“Yeah …”
There’s more. On Instagram, he shared this:
“She fought so hard until the very last breath. I am forever indebted to her for the sacrifices she made for me to be successful, and for the person she helped me to become. We will miss her so much.”
This week, at the Byron Nelson tournament, Day was five years and six days since his last win, at the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship. He had been a world No. 1, remember. He was the 2015 PGA Championship winner, don’t forget. Then came the ailments, mainly with his back. He tried to play through. To accommodate his body, he adjusted his swing. His success was small.
Thursday, he shot a 64 at TPC Craig Ranch. Friday, a 69. Saturday, a 66. He started Sunday two shots behind the leaders.
He birdied 2, 3, 5 and 9. He had a share of the lead. On the back nine, he was better. He was nearly flawless. He birdied 10. He birdied 12 on a chip-in from just off the green, and he was the leader. He birdied 14 and 15. His birdie on 18 was best, though. From 79 yards out on his third shot on the par-5, Day hit to 18 inches. He made that. It gave him a one-shot advantage over Si Woo Kim, and when Austin Eckroat, playing in the group behind and two shots back, failed to eagle 18, Day was your winner. He had shot a nine-under 62, with a back-nine 30.
We’ll end things, though, with one more note on Adenal.
Her name was on the back of his caddie.
It was Mother’s Day, after all.
The takeaway
Welcome back, Jason Day. His is a story of perseverance. Those are the best ones. Now it’s off to the PGA Championship.
The leaderboard breakdown
— Austin Eckroat, Zecheng Dou and Ryan Palmer begin their final round with a two-shot lead. They are at 16-under; Vincent Norrman, Jason Day, Si Woo Kim and Scottie Scheffler are at 14-under; and Patton Kizzire, Tyrrell Hatton, Sung Kang and Richy Werenski are at 13-under.
— Eckroat and Dou birdie the 437-yard, par-4 1st — Eckroat on a 24-foot putt and Dou on a 4-footer — and they take a one-shot lead. Eckroat and Dou are at 17-under; Palmer is at 16-under; and Stephan Jaeger, Mackenzie Hughes, C.T. Pan, Kang, Scheffler, Norrman, Day and Kim are at 14-under.
— Eckroat birdies the 415-yard, par-4 3rd on a 10-foot birdie putt, and he takes a one-shot lead. He’s at 18-under; Dou is at 17-under; and Jaeger, Pan, Scheffler, Day and Palmer are at 15-under.
— Dou birdies the 223-yard, par-3 4th after hitting his tee shot to 10 feet, and he moves back into a share of the lead with Eckroat. They are at 18-under; Scheffler and Day are at 16-under; and Jaeger, Hughes, Pan, Kim and Palmer are at 15-under.
— Dou birdies the 578-yard, par-5 5th after hitting just over the green with his second shot, and he takes a one-shot lead. He’s at 19-under; Eckroat is at 18-under; Pan, Scheffler and Day are at 17-under; and Jaeger and Kim are at 16-under.
— Dou birdies the 192-yard, par-3 7th after hitting his tee to 7 feet, and he takes a two-shot lead. He’s at 20-under; Pan and Eckroat are at 18-under; and Adam Scott, Scheffler and Day are at 17-under.
— Dou trips up on the 480-yard, par-4 8th. He hits his second shot out of bounds, he double-bogeys, and he falls back into a share of the lead. Scheffler, Eckroat and Dou are at 18-under, Jaeger, Scott, Pan, Day, Kim and Palmer are at 17-under; and Joseph Bramlett, Kang, Werenski and Norrman are at 16-under.
— Norrman, Day and Kim all jump to 18-under, and six players are now tied for the lead. They are at 18-under, and Jaeger, Scott, Pan and Palmer are at 17-under.
— Dou rebounds with a birdie on the 523-yard, par-5 9th. He had gotten to the green in two. Dou is at 19-under; Scheffler, Norrman, Day, Kim, Eckroat and Palmer are at 18-under; and Kevin Tway, Jaeger, Scott, Pan and Werenski are at 17-under.
— Kim pulls into a share of the lead after making birdie on the 473-yard, par-4 10th on a 33-foot putt. Kim and Dou are at 19-under; Scheffler, Norrman, Day, Eckroat and Palmer are at 18-under; and Jaeger, Tway, Scott, Pan and Werenski are at 17-under.
— Day birdies the 10th after hitting his approach to 5 feet, and he pulls into a share of the lead. Day, Kim and Dou are at 19-under; Scheffler, Norrman, Eckroat and Palmer are at 18-under; and Jaeger, Tway, Scott, Pan and Werenski are at 17-under.
— Scheffler birdies the 446-yard, par-4 11th after hitting his approach to 7 feet, and he grabs a share of the lead. Scheffler, Day, Kim and Dou are at 19-under; Norrman, Eckroat and Palmer are at 18-under; and Jaeger, Tway, Scott, Pan and Werenski are at 17-under.
— Norrman birdies the 11th on an 11-foot birdie putt, and he grabs a share of the lead. Norrman, Scheffler, Day, Kim and Dou are at 19-under; Scott, Eckroat and Palmer are at 18-under; and Peter Kuest, Jaeger, Tway, Pan and Werenski are at 17-under.
— Day chips in on the 507-yard, par-4 12th, and he takes a one-shot lead. Day is at 20-under, Scheffler, Norrman, Kim and Dou are at 19-under; Jaeger, Tway Scott, Eckroat and Palmer are at 18-under; and Kuest, Pan and Werenski are at 17-under.
— Scheffler birdies the 305-yard, par-4 14th after hitting his tee shot just over the green, and he grabs a share of the lead. He and Day are at 20-under; Scott, Pan, Kim, Eckroat and Dou are at 19-under; and Jaeger, Tway, Norrman and Palmer are at 18-under.
— Day birdies the 14th after hitting his tee shot just over the green, and he takes a one-shot lead. He’s at 21-under; Scheffler is at 20-under; and Scott, Pan, Kim, Eckroat and Dou are at 19-under.
— Day birdies the 214-yard, par-3 15th, and he takes a two-shot lead. He’s at 22-under, Scheffler, Kim and Eckroat are at 20-under; and Scott, Pan and Dou are at 19-under.
— Kim birdies the 548-yard, par-5 18th, and he pulls into a share of the lead. He and Day are at 22-under; Pan and Eckroat are at 21-under; and Scheffler and Hatton are at 20-under.
— Seconds later, Day birdies the 18th after hitting his third shot to 14 inches. He’s at 23-under, and Kim is at 22-under. In the group behind, Eckroat can tie if he eagles 18.
— Eckroat doesn’t, and Day is the winner. Day finishes at 23-under, and Kim and Eckroat at 22-under.
The final word
“Well, I think the point he’s at in his career, it’s really all he’s trying to do. He’s obviously set out and really worked hard on his golf swing the last couple years, and he’s stayed incredibly patient, I think, and chipped away at it and got it to a place where he may not say he’s not satisfied, but it’s looking pretty good. The validation of sticking with it, I think, is something at this point that he’ll take a lot out of, and when you’re as talented as Jason, the sky’s the limit, once the confidence comes through winning like that.” — Adam Scott, on Day, his fellow Aussie.
