How was Tiger Woods No. 1 for so long? He answered with 14 words

Jason Day laughs now, because it’s funny to him on a few levels. For one, Tiger Woods answered his question self-deprecatingly. But there’s also a nugget of hard truth to the response that makes Day smile too. 

The query?   

What kept you at No. 1 for so long?

Day was talking on this week’s “The Smylie Show” — which you can listen to in full here — where part of the conversation looked at Day’s time atop the golf world, and specifically the commitment to get there. The podcast’s host, Smylie Kaufman, noted that Day’s devotion reminded him of Woods’, and that led to this response:

“You had to have, it was — to get to the best, it’s a lifestyle choice,” Day said on the podcast. “Your whole life has to be in on that goal of being the best. You can’t — it’s very difficult. Some of the guys can do it. Like a Dustin Johnson and some of these other guys, they can naturally just get to No. 1, and just like, how do you do it so easily? … They don’t practice as hard as you or I, they’re kind of just naturally gifted in a way that they can do it and it just doesn’t look like it affects their lifestyle much. 

“And then there’s people like me and even Tiger, for instance.”

Woods? Really? At this point in the podcast, Day shared the story of his question — and Woods’ 14-word response. 

“I always laugh at this because — hey, what kept you at No. 1 for so long?” Day said on the podcast. “And he would look at me and go, I’m not as talented as you so I had to work harder than you. 

“I’m like, that is such a load of crap. You’re way more talented than me. But again, what he did great was that he matched great technique with unbelievable work ethic and also a great mental game. When you have that three-prong effect, it’s just going to give success.”

Was Day more talented than Woods? Did Woods work harder than Day to the tune of 69 more wins than him? (Woods has 82 victories; Day 13.) Was Woods poking fun at himself? Was he jabbing Day? We’ll let you figure that out. 

But Day also appreciated Woods’ drive. Day, too, left no golf ball unturned. 

“Getting back to being No. in the world, it was, what am I eating, how am I sleeping, is there any drama in my life that I need to get rid of?” Day said on the podcast. “Because the amount of stuff that happens personally at home affects you on the golf course, so you got to understand that having a toxic relationship or having drama off the golf course actually affects you on the golf course. Then you go, how’s my practice schedule, how’s my gym work and then you got to attack it from all different angles and go, OK, well, everything’s working in order, go out and play, and then my goal, if I’m wanting to do it and I’m willing to push it, then you’ll, at some point, if have all those things working in order, you’ll get there. 

“But, god, it’s hard.”

Editor’s note: To listen to the entire “The Smylie Show” podcast with Day, please click here. And to watch Day on GOLF’S “Breakthrough,” please click here or scroll below. 

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.

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