Jason Day has Tiger Woods to thank for introducing him to Bridgestone Golf. Now the former major winners are attached to the same equipment manufacturer after the 34-year-old Aussie agreed to terms on a ball-only deal that will see him continue to play the Tour B X in competition.
Day, who became an equipment free agent in 2020, was first introduced to Bridgestone’s Tour B XS while watching Woods hit controlled short game shots. The high spin around the green interested Day — to the point that he started using the ball in competition.
While the ball provided many benefits, it didn’t take Day long to realize there might be a better Tour B for the rest of his game that still provided the necessary greenside spin.
“We were doing some short game work with Tiger’s ball, the XS, and it caught my attention right away,” said Day. “I initially played the XS and liked it but after working with Bridgestone’s R&D team and really learning about the ball fitting process, it was obvious that the Tour B X was the best fit for my game.”
As Elliot Mellow, Bridgestone’s golf ball marketing manager noted, Day’s introduction to Tour B mirrored what he typically sees from recreational golfers who initially play Tiger’s ball before locating a better fit.
“We hear from a lot of players who started with Bridgestone by trying Tiger’s Tour B XS model and then eventually transitioned to the Tour B X, RX, or RXS, after being fitted,” said Mellow. “That’s what happened with Jason, who felt Tiger’s XS model provided a bit more spin than was optimum for his game. We’ve been focused on fitting for a long time and it’s interesting to see that even the best in the world sometimes need help finding the right golf ball for them.”
As the schedule shifts to the run-up to the Masters, Day confirmed he’ll continue to play the 2022 Tour B X for the foreseeable future after seeing an improvement in not only short game spin but ball speed and control as well.
“Every day I look at what I can do to get better and the choice to play Bridgestone feeds right into that,” he said. “Personally, I feel kind of like I am cheating playing this ball. Of course, I’m not but it’s that good. The performance of the Tour B affords me opportunities to be aggressive; off the tee, the ball speed is there but it’s still super spinny around the green, which is a nice combination.”
Day joins a Bridgestone Tour staff that currently includes Woods, Bryson DeChambeau, Fred Couples, Matt Kuchar and Lexi Thompson.
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