1. You can’t be a golf fan or a human being for that matter and not appreciate Jason Day’s journey. It is a dramatic story of dedication and redemption made possible by Day and all those close to him.
2. Rory McIlroy has been acknowledged as the best long driver on tour. Yesterday Jason Day took driving the golf ball to another level. There is such an advantage in length and accurate length is so much more. If Day can drive the ball like this there will be a few more majors coming for the Aussie.
3. Day and Jordan Spieth didn’t give us the mano y mano battle we wanted but they did give us something special. Brandel Chamblee noted the “class and civility” that they both displayed on Sunday. And that’s what is special about them and this group of players that have taken over the tours. Most of them are true sportsman as well as skilled golfers.
4. Spieth showed that he is human after all when he said he was waiting for (hoping actually) that one time Day would miss a drive and maybe end up in trouble to give Spieth a chance at narrowing the lead. It never happened but at least Spieth was honest about it.
5. Spieth’s move to number one in the world and Day’s jump to third has some talking about a new “Big Three” in golf. I say why should we limit it to three. We have a bunch of young players that swarm near the lead of every championship and have golf in such a great place. Add Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Branden Grace and you who have a group of young golfers who are making their bones on tour right now and the rookie class of young golfers is as strong as ever. Golf is in a great place.
6. Notice we had a great week of golf, especially Saturday’s round and we had no Tiger Woods dominating the telecast. Woods may be done, he may come back and win more majors but the fact is right now he’s a shell of the player that used to be Tiger Woods. And while that’s a bad thing for Woods himself it is not for professional golf around the world. So many likable, skilled players are in contention each week the game has moved on. The King is dead. Long live the King.
7. Whistling Straits is a man sized golf course but even at 7500 yards we saw players hitting irons into par fives. Day’s major record of 20 under par is certainly impressive and while technology has plenty to do with the massive length we see nowadays we shouldn’t over look the skills these world class players possess. Yes, these guys are good.
8. The PGA of America has to be happy with the way the Straits course played. It rewarded solid shots with birdie opportunities and punished shots just barely off line. The margin between birdie and double bogey was so very small. The PGA setup was both challenging and entertaining and they don’t mind players going low: great shots equaled birdies and poor shots cost dearly. That’s the way it should be.
9. The PGA also got it right with their on line coverage. In the early rounds they truly gave us the marquee players and the crew handling that did a great job. The folks at TNT did a nice job showing golf shots but the weekend telecast by CBS was dismal. So many commercials and “talking” about golf instead of live golf made their coverage excruciating. I watched each day with the computer next to me so I at least had some action going all the time.
10. Jason Day and many other golfers winning tournaments and populating the tours today grew up watching and idolizing Tiger. Woods made working out a requirement for any professional golfer and showed that a singular focus on golf can bring a player to heights previously thought unreachable. Many of today’s players modeled their careers after Tiger’s. But what many of them have not taken from the Woods School is the adversarial attitude toward the media. So many of today’s stars and superstars are the antithesis of Woods when dealing with the media. Where Woods was closed mouthed and abrasive with reporters these players are open, honest and so very revealing with the press. Rory, Jordan and Jason answer questions with thoughtful detailed answers that reveal themselves as human being and not automatons.
Bonus. On that note, none was more revealing than Day’s comment about what set him on his trail of redemption. “If my dad didn’t pass away, I don’t think I would have been in a good spot. That’s what I was saying, when a door closes, another door opens up for that opportunity. And where I was based, I mean it wasn’t the greatest place. But who knows where I would have been. I honestly don’t know. I could not tell you.
And I’ve changed so much from where I was and what I saw as a kid to where I am now. I mean, it’s just an amazing, amazing feeling, an amazing story to really be able to tell people that, give them insight on what I felt and the emotions that I’ve gone through growing up as a kid in Australia and losing my dad very young. But to be honest, I have no idea where I would be, what I would be doing, probably wouldn’t be doing much of anything. And I wouldn’t be challenging myself and trying to better myself if I didn’t have the people that I have in my life today.”
That’s the player of today: open, honest and unafraid to share their story with the world. It’s a new day in golf in more ways than one.
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