Injury-plagued Day reveals he was close to quitting

As Tiger Woods knows, the fall from grace due to injury can be swift and Jason Day is finding that out.

Like his hero, Tiger Woods, who was sidelined for years by injury, Day is also struggling day to day with severe back pain and the results are not pretty.

Jason Day (Credit: PGA Tour)

The former World No.1 and 2015 PGA Championship winner has slid from the very top of the rankings a few years ago to languishing just inside the top 40.

There were encouraging signs at last week’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am where the Queenslander finished in outright 4th place, with only a final round 75 robbing him of a chance at the title on Sunday.

However, Day admitted during the tournament that during his time off, he had contemplated giving away the game.

“I was, for a moment there, when I was playing bad golf and I was also injured…I honestly felt like…I’m nearly done here, just because of how much pain I was in.”

“And then on top of it how stressful it is to play competitive golf week-in and week-out and try and live up to the expectations not only with yourself, but with what everyone else thinks that you should be doing.”

When asked about wanting to lessen his commitments this season, Day joked that he would like to but given that Nike signed him to a reported $100 million contract just three years ago it is very likely he must play a certain number of events to fulfil his obligations.

“Contractually, I would like to shorten it, but I can’t,” laughed Day.

“You know what, I’ve been very blessed to be able to play this many years out here, so I’m trying to be as disciplined as I can to extend my career for even longer because I actually I really enjoy this game. I love this game. It’s given me so much.”

Most recently, Day was forced to pull out of the Presidents Cup where he had been given a Captain’s Pick by Ernie Els.

“Frustratingly, I’ve been through back problems before and my medical team decided it best to shut down all practice and play,” said Day in his press release at the time.

Day may need to look again to his hero Woods for inspiration as he works his way back to the top of his game.

In 2017, Woods withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic and languished in 674th place on the World Golf Rankings.

Fast-forward to 2020 and Woods has another Masters title to his name and sits at 8th in the world. Perhaps no-one in the golfing world has the mental strength of Woods but it does show that it is possible to come back from injury and get back to your best….it just takes time and patience.