Jason Day waves to spectators during the Presidents Cup in September.
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Over the last three years, plenty of pros have dived into consideration for a life on LIV Golf. Some of them took it, others passed, but many of them at least took it seriously. They felt they had to.
One of those gents whose name seemed to linger in the LIV discussion was Australian Jason Day. The former world no. 1 held a resume similar to many LIV members. He had won a major, won numerous times on the PGA Tour, was not an American, and seemed popular enough to captain his own franchise.
In other words, he would have fit in nicely alongside Martin Kaymer, Louis Oosthuizen, Cam Smith, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson — fellow international major-winners who were past their prime golfing days. Day wasn’t afraid to explore those options, either.
“What happened was, it was a business move to just go in and explore the potential of what would happen or what the price would be.”
Although he didn’t clarify when he considered it, Day obviously wasn’t alone in this endeavor. Plenty of Tour pros who didn’t ultimately leave or LIV were given offers, or relative dollar amounts they’d likely receive in the event of contract negotiations. On a tinier scale, these ‘business moves’ happen all the time for Tour pros, who are their own companies. Their agents and managers explore most everything on the table to figure out every option.
“My agent, who has represented a lot of guys over there, said ‘Hey, I’m just going to go out just to see what happens’,” Day continued.
“And I said ‘No worries, I’m happy with where I’m at, but it’s always nice to know.‘“
Unfortunately for Day, what he found in response was something he already knew quite well. That his years since that incredible peak in 2015 have been marred too much by injury.
“And they said, ‘We love Jason, but he’s too injured, he just gets too many injuries,‘” Day recalled.
Perhaps more than any modern star not named Tiger Woods, Day’s past decade has been riddled with issues. Most have been related to his back, a nagging ailment he has worked with trainers and coaches to alleviate, even changing his swing in recent years with Chris Como.
Day said he doesn’t blame LIV for passing on him, and it mostly ended up working out well for all parties. Day stuck with the Tour and triumphed in 2023, ending a five-year winless drought at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Importantly, he also maintained world ranking points and PGA Tour access, allowing Day to play in the Paris Olympics this summer and lead the International team in the Presidents Cup this fall.
Sean Zak is a writer at GOLF Magazine and just published his first book, which follows his travels in Scotland during the most pivotal summer in the game’s history.
