A decade after ruling golf, Jason Day has been written off more than once. But with his old caddie back on the bag and his confidence returning, he’s daring to dream of being World No.1 again.
A decade ago, for the best part of two years, Jason Day made golf look almost too easy. He was explosive but controlled, confident but humble. The swing was pure, the putter was red hot, and the swagger was unmistakable.
When he finally reached World No.1 after winning two of the first three FedEx Cup Playoff events in 2015, it felt like golf had a new alpha. It had taken him five years longer than he wanted, but with a Wanamaker Trophy already sitting on his mantelpiece, few players looked more complete.
Between July 2015 and May 2016, Day won seven times in 17 starts – including a major, two WGCs, and the Players Championship. Adam Scott, never one for exaggeration, said his countryman’s dominance reminded him of Tiger Woods. He spent 47 weeks at World No.1. For a period, he was the most feared player in golf.
The rise of the machine
Day’s rise was the result of obsession – a relentless pursuit of perfection that had been in him since childhood. He’d grown up idolising Tiger, studying his swing and copying his routines until they were muscle memory. When he broke through on the PGA Tour, he brought that same intensity to his preparation.
He worked out like a boxer, practiced until dark, and transformed himself physically to keep up with the new breed of power players. But in hindsight, that drive may have cost him more than it gave.
“I wish I would have taken care of myself a little more,” Day admits now. “In ’15 and ’16 I was in the perfect spot with my body. Then I went too far with the fitness stuff, lost too much weight, then went the other way. I went from 175 pounds to 210 pounds, so there was a dramatic difference in my training schedule and what I ate. I wish I hadn’t fiddled around with that so much, because with that came injuries.”
When life hit harder than golf
Day’s back problems started quietly but soon became impossible to ignore. There were winces, withdrawals, and rounds where he needed mid-round treatment just to finish. Golf had turned from a passion into a physical trial.
And then life intervened in the cruellest way. His mother, Dening, was diagnosed with lung cancer. She would fight the disease for five years, undergoing treatment with Jason by her side. Through it all, he tried to keep playing, but the emotional toll was enormous.
“I was going through the motions,” he says. “Hardly practising before tournaments just to save what little pain-free golf I could muster for when it mattered most.”
That fragile balancing act couldn’t last. After Dustin Johnson ended Day’s reign at No.1 in early 2017, the slide began. He split with his long-time caddie and coach, Colin Swatton – the man who’d been by his side since his teenage years at Kooralbyn International School – in an attempt to reboot his career.
Over the next few years, Day changed coaches, tried to rebuild his swing, and experimented with his setup to protect his back. Nothing seemed to stick. His ranking slipped, his confidence wavered, and by 2020, he was outside the top 100 in the world.
The long road back
For many, that might have been it – a cautionary tale about how quickly the game can chew you up and spit you out. But Day never stopped believing there was another chapter left. He rebuilt his swing to reduce strain, made equipment changes, and re-evaluated his priorities.
By 2023, signs of life were returning. He started contending again, finishing inside the top 10 multiple times before winning the AT&T Byron Nelson – his first victory in five years.
And this year, another key piece of the old Jason Day puzzle returned.
Day reunited with Swatton – the man who’d guided him from a troubled kid with a dream to the top of the golf world. The pair got back together at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, marking the start of a new chapter in their two-decade relationship.
“He knows my game better than anyone,” Day said after their first week back. “He’s taught me since I was 13 years old. We had a bit of a break and now we’re back together, which is nice. I’m looking forward to seeing the progression of my game going forward.”
“I still have the game”
About to turn 38, Jason Day knows the window for a second act isn’t open forever. But his goals are as lofty as ever.
“My goal is still to get back to No.1 in the world,” he says. “I know there are a lot of steps. I’m kind of quiet right now, unfortunately, and I would rather be at the top end, closer to where Rory [McIlroy] and Scottie [Scheffler] are. I want to strive towards getting back to No.1 and winning major championships.”
It’s a bold statement – and he knows it. Right now, Day sits 45th in the Official World Golf Ranking – just above Patrick Reed, who doesn’t even earn OWGR points anymore as a LIV player. It’s a reminder of how far he’s fallen, and how steep the climb will be if he’s serious about reaching the summit again.
But there’s no trace of arrogance in his tone, only conviction.
“I want to get off of one [major victory],” he says. “I want to win the Masters. Those are the things that are driving me towards competing and playing well and climbing that mountain again.”
A second act still to be written
Golf loves a comeback story, and Jason Day’s might yet be unfinished. He’s healthy, happy, and realistic about what it takes to compete in the era of Scheffler, McIlroy, and DeChambeau. But there’s also a flicker of the old fire – the same one that once made him unbeatable.
“I still feel young and healthy,” he says. “And I look at Vijay [Singh], [Henrik] Stenson, Phil [Mickelson] – they all won a good chunk of their titles in their 40s, so there’s still a lot of golf left in me.”
He’s no longer the machine who dominated 2015 and 2016, but maybe that’s the point. The new Jason Day doesn’t need to be perfect – and having accepted that may just help him chase those lofty goals over the coming years.
He finished T8 at this year’s Masters, his best result at Augusta since 2019 – a small but telling sign that his game is trending the right way and a reminder that his story isn’t over.
For a player who once ruled the world and then lost almost everything that made him great, that flicker of form feels like more than progress – it feels like possibility.
Jason Day was talking to TG’s Michael Catling. You can read the full interview here.
