Jason Day wins The Players by 4 and is clearly the best in the world
Jason Day won The Players Championship by four shots on Sunday, and, really it makes sense. The best player in the world won one of the best tournaments in the world.
Actually, Day really won three tournaments rolled into one.
Day set the pace on Thursday in soft, receptive conditions by tying the competitive course record with 9-under 63 at TPC Sawgrass. In a round that straddled Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, Day followed up with a 66 in similar conditions to set a new 36-hole scoring record at the tournament — one previously held by his idol, Greg Norman, when he marched to a tournament-record 24-under 264 in 1994.
Then, the PGA Tour created a second tournament on Saturday afternoon. Expecting little wind and plenty of humidity, the course setup team set up the course to play a firmer and a tad faster than the birdiefest that had been the first two rounds. Unfortunately, they got the weather forecast wrong and got the exact opposite.
The significant winds and relatively dry Florida heat baked out the Stadium Course, leaving the greens running on the edge of playability. Combined with tricky Saturday hole locations, the table-top greens drove up the scoring average by four-and-a-half shots over the first two days. Only six players broke par. Jason Day wasn’t one, but his 1-over 73 beat the scoring average of 75.6 and gave him a four-shot edge heading into the final round.
The final round was the third tournament. It was the Goldilocks day, the one between the first two days and Saturday. The Stadium played more difficult, but just a smidge over par. After coming out flat, Day made a pair of bogeys to go out in 2-over 38. However, the bogey 6 on the par-5 ninth may have been the most critical stroke of Day’s round. He settled from here, making birdies on Nos. 10 and 12 to re-establish his sizable lead. A ho-hum birdie on the par-5 16th put the nail in the coffin.
However, it was Day’s final hole that offering a parting glimpse into what could be a scary future for the PGA Tour.
Day hit his trusty 2-iron off the 18th tee some 308 yards, setting up a wedge into the green at the 462-yard finisher. Knowing he had the tournament in hand, he made a routine two-putt to lock up the fifth wire-to-wire win in Players history (fourth at Sawgrass).
“It’s such a big accomplishment for me in my career,” Day said. “To be able to finally win as No. 1 in the world and then to go wire to wire was very special. I’m glad I don’t have to play the course again.”
For the Aussie, this is his seventh PGA Tour win in his last 17 starts. It’s his third wire-to-wire win in the last nine months. It’s his third win this season. He cemented his status as world No. 1. He’s the favorite to win the U.S. Open.
Tiger Woods has taken Day under his wing, and Day has repeatedly said he’s absorbing — and is clearly putting into practice — what the 14-time major winner has revealed. If Day can continue to learn from Woods and draw from his own mountin experience to sail the uncharted waters of being the undisputed No. 1 player in the world, he can only stand to get better.
That’s frightening.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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