By Carl Steward
Jason Day often gets lumped in with golf's new wave of young stars that includes Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler, but Australia's top player and third-ranked golfer worldwide doesn't feel like he's part of the boys' club.
While not that far apart in age — Day just turned 28 in November, while Fowler is 27, McIlroy 26 and Spieth 22 — he sees a major difference. They're all still single, and he's a married man with two children.
Compounding that, Day has been playing his practice rounds with a pair of young and single Australian phenoms, 22-year-old Cameron Smith and 17-year-old Ryan Ruffels, both of whom are entered in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am starting on Thursday.
"I don't feel that old, but when I talk to these kids, I do feel old," Day said. "Because I'm talking about taxes and all this other stuff that is very, very boring. And these guys are talking about music, and I'm like, 'Oh, I remember those days.' "
"I'm talking about taxes and all this other stuff that is very, very boring. And these guys are talking about music": Jason Day,Credit: Getty Images
Day had his best year as a professional last year and was second to Spieth in terms of accomplishments. He won five tournaments, including his first major title at the PGA Championship, finished in the top 10 in 11 of the 20 tournaments he entered and earned $US9.4 million ($13.2 million).
But he's behind schedule as he tries to jump-start his 2016 season. Day took three months off after recording two follow-up FedEx Cup wins to the PGA — the Barclays and BMW Championship, which resulted in a brief ascent to No. 1 in the world — to be with his family and see the birth of his second child, daughter Lucy.
He had a decent outing in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in early January, finishing in a tie for 10th that briefly elevated him to No. 2.
But he contracted a nasty viral infection before the Farmers Insurance Open two weeks ago that landed him flat on his back for four days, including two visits to the hospital.
Somehow, he played in the tournament because he was the defending champion, but he missed the cut.
"It was a pretty bad bug," he said. "The week prior I played pretty good, but I didn't hit a ball for five days. That's difficult, but I'm definitely feeling a lot better. I don't think there's any health issues now."
Day said trying to duplicate his 2015 season and keep up with the single guys such as Spieth and McIlroy will be tough, but he's going to give it a whirl even though he sacrificed so much time to be with his family.
"They will get there one day and they will probably go through the same things that I'm feeling and going through as well," he said.
"Playing at an elite level against the best players in the world and trying to balance family life and personal stuff is difficult to do. But over time you get better and better at it."
McClatchy Newspapers