J Day vows to chase down the Scheffler winning machine
Jason Day remembers a glorious but all too fleeting spell in his career when he felt like he could win every week – and, more often than not, did just that.
Now, he’s watching in awe as Scottie Scheffler is enjoying a rather longer spell when everything he touches seems to turn to gold. Yes, even Olympic gold.
And hard as it will be, Australia’s No.1 is determined to catch the ‘Master Olympian’.
After the American perpetrated one of the epic last-round steals in any tournament, let alone the Olympics, with his magnifique nine-under 62 at Le Golf National, Day was asked when he’d last seen a winning machine like Scheffler, who’s now won seven events this year, including the Masters and the Players Championship.
“Tiger,” he said, unhesitatingly.
It made the 36-year-old Queenslander recall his own world No.1 heyday back in 2015 and 2016, but this was different. This ‘Master Olympian’ Scheffler is like no-one we’d seen before, feels Day.
“I had a really short spell where I did everything right and felt like I could win every single week, and I did for a moment there – but he’s doing some things we haven’t seen in a long while, and it’s impressive,” said Day.
“I say this in the most respectful way, but when you watch Scottie, it doesn’t blow you away like watching Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy.
“It’s just that he doesn’t make mistakes. He hits them in the right spots, he’s got unbelievable control with his iron play and when he misses a green, he’s got a good short game to back it up. He’s got such a complete game.
“It’s really, really hard to play against because you know that he’s never gonna make a mistake.
“I know what he’s going through. It just feels like you can’t do anything wrong, you’re just in such control. But he’s different; I did it through really, really good putting and short game, but he’s doing it from tee to green and not putting a lot of stress on himself.
“He’s also doing it on a weekly basis, so very, very hard to do. He’s got everything perfect right now. So we’ll see how things progress; maybe he’ll kick it on for the next 10, 12 years or maybe it’ll be short-term.
“But at the moment, it’s something we have to elevate our games to. We’ve got to catch him in one way or another. And that just means more work.”
Day, who was tied for ninth in Paris, swears he’s determined to do so – but it’s not easy when you’re a dad of five.
“It’s a lifestyle. You kind of have to live and breathe everything you possibly can to get back to No.1. It’s the sacrifice you make around your family, your close ones, your loved ones,” he said.
Asked if he himself could get back to that elevated place, Day, who’s currently No.29 in the world, was adamant: “I can do it.
“If I get my iron play where it needs to be, I can definitely do it, for sure. Like my putting is just too good not to.
But could he shut out all the distractions? “That’s the difficult thing. I’ve got five kids and to very selfishly have your priorities in one spot is difficult.
“But saying you can get back there is an another story to actually going and doing it, and being selfish with your time. That’s difficult. I don’t know, we’ll wait and see.”
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