Jason Day refused to surrender the fight, and the reward came Sunday in a soft north Texas rain when he won the AT&T Byron Nelson, his first PGA Tour victory in five years.
The No. 1 player in the world in 2015-16, Day had fallen to 175th last summer as he struggled to overcome back issues that have plagued his career, wondering at one point whether he could continue to play tournament golf.
Trending in the right direction with four top-10 finishes in 2023, Day crossed the comeback finish line Sunday at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney with a one-stroke victory over Si Woo Kim and rookie Austin Eckroat.
“It's been a struggling few years – five years, actually – since my last win, so to be able to get the win the way I played today was really special,” said Day, who won the first of his 13 PGA Tour victories at the same event in 2010. “I'm very pleased and happy with how things have progressed over the last couple years for me.”
Day shot a bogey-free 9-under 62 in the final round to emerge as the designated survivor in the non-designated event. Needing a birdie at the par-5 finishing hole, Day was forced to lay up, then stuffed a wedge shot close for the clinching birdie.
What got Day his first trophy since the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship?
“Just nonstop grinding and nonstop wanting to improve and try and get better,” said Day, whose closing 62 capped a 23-under 261 total. “I've had a lot of injuries with my back, and for a moment there I thought I wasn't going to play again, and just trying to get through those two years of just trying to get through a tournament was difficult.
“To be on the other side of it, be healthy, feeling good about my game, finally winning again – yeah, no better feeling, really.”
Fellow Australian Adam Scott has watched the steady progression in Day’s return to form.
“He's obviously set out and really worked hard on his golf swing the last couple years, and he's stayed incredibly patient, I think, and chipped away at it and got it to a place where he may not say he's not satisfied, but it's looking pretty good,” Scott said.
“The validation of sticking with it, I think, is something at this point that he'll take a lot out of, and when you're as talented as Jason, the sky's the limit, once the confidence comes through winning like that.”
Though Day won the tournament, it was in many ways an introduction of sorts for tour rookies Marty Dou, Austin Eckroat and Vincent Normann, all of whom had their best finishes and were part of the constantly changing leaderboard on Sunday.
“This was a success for sure,” said Eckroat, who tied for second in his 31st tour start. “I played four great rounds, got off to a terrible start on Thursday and just battled back.”
Ron Green Jr.