Day was never seriously tested in the final round en route to his seventh victory in his past 17 starts, a hot streak that few other than Woods can boast in the modern era.
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“That kind of run, it’s Tiger-esque”, Scott said. “I think I’ve pretty much covered it all there when it comes to the golf”. And Jason must be kind of feeling something like that at the moment.
Day, 28, is the fourth Australian to win the PGA Tour’s flagship event, after Steve Elkington (1991 and 1997), Greg Norman (1994) and Adam Scott (2004).
“You can see there’s that calmness inside him – calm confidence – and the way he’s walking around”.
“I’m very motivated to stay at number one”, Day said. A wedge to the green and two putts completed the task. Day found something that week – a combination of desire and belief – and he has parlayed that into a run Scott referred to as “Tigeresque”.
“Jason’s playing great. Jordan (Spieth) had a wonderful year last year”.
Day’s second wire-to-wire victory this season (his first was the win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in March) is still the tournament headline. “And all 18 holes are important, it’s not just 16, 17 and 18”.
Not the super slick greens that almost derailed him Saturday.
He was on the ropes again Sunday – a bogey on No. 6, avoiding another bogey by making a 15-foot putt on No. 7, and then taking three chips from 40 feet right of the green on the par-5 ninth and having to make a 6-foot putt just to salvage bogey.
His on-course earnings combined with the $US7.5 million ($US10.3 million) he is estimated by Golf Digest to earn in sponsorships and endorsements, mean Day has earned close to $18 million this year, even before three major tournaments and lucrative events such as the FedEx Cup are played.
Spieth tweeted Sunday night that Day’s bogey putt was “possibly most underrated shot of the day”.
And former world number one and Players Championship victor David Duval said Day was in a class of his own.
But while Day still has an extremely long way to go to match the 14 major titles and 79 PGA Tour wins of Woods, it is becoming increasingly hard to dismiss Scott’s views as partial hyperbole.
The Aussie stumbled to 12-under while Thomas birdied three of the final five holes to shoot 65 and reach the clubhouse on 10-under with five rivals on 9-under as Day’s back nine loomed.
“I was really nervous on the front side, and it showed”, Day said. “But now once tonight is done and tomorrow starts, it’s another week”. You’re in the limelight a lot but I wouldn’t change it in any way because this is where I want to be.
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“It’s been an unbelievable kind of journey for me to be able to idolize him as a junior guy and growing up and now I’m good mates with him and I get to pick his brain about what he did when he was dominating”, said Day. Winning is never enough.
