It's been almost two years since I took the photos in this post. ~ It was in Cromwell, CT on a hot, muggy day in late June and the 2008 Travelers Championship was just getting underway. We were only a couple of days past the most dramatic golf tournament in history and the vibe around the TPC River Highlands practice green was almost as listless and moody as New England's semi-tropical summer weather.
I'd never heard of Jason Day at that point. I had no idea where he was from or what he'd done to put him there with the likes of Justin Rose and Stewart Appleby... Vijay Singh and Sergio Garcia, but his hip, young, ethnically-ambiguous look certainly set him apart. I took quite a few photos of the little-known player, mainly because he was so photogenic.
At one point during that sultry day someone... a caddy, a coach, an anonymous player? ... approached the green with the news that Tiger was done for 2008. It had just been announced that he would miss the rest of the season, which included two more major championships and the Ryder Cup.
And that became the golf story. The whole golf story, because in those days Tiger Woods was golf and golf was Tiger Woods. My Jason Day photos were relegated to a big old Lacie storage disc and forgotten. Actually I didn't forget. I found out more about Jason Day as 2008 became 2009... and both became history. I found out he was from Australia, but that his mother was originally from the Philippines ...and that his beginnings were quite modest. The story of his first club... a three wood retrieved by hid Dad from a garbage dump... is well documented, as is his extraordinary bond with mentor/coach/caddy Colin Swatton. And there's much more that sets Mr. Day apart, if you bother to look.
What surprised me however, was how little interest there was in his breakthrough win at the Byron Nelson. Outside of the "avid golf fan" circle... and even within it... there seemed to be little desire to celebrate this particular "young gun". The excitement was much less than when Rory Mcilroy won his first US championship... albiet in more spectacular style... at Quail Hollow a couple of months ago. ~ And though it was clearly impressive to see sixteen-year-old amateur, Jordan Spieth on the leaderboard, I would venture, that if... instead of Jason Day... Rickie Fowler or Ryo Ishikawa had taken the Byron Nelson trophy there would have been far more excitement... and lots more ink spilled. And I'm not quite sure why that is.
Nice story I knew nothing about him and was surprised at how little anyone wrote when he won.
ReplyDeleteGood point about the relative lack of interest in Day. My sense is that the poor quality of the field at the Nelson, particularly as compared to the field at Quail Hollow, had something to do with it.
ReplyDeleteHe's so cute too. I think he definitely belongs in the Rory, Ryo, Rickie category. It's too bad his name doesn't start with "R". :))))
ReplyDeleteLike T said when the big names aren't playing the whole tournament sort of becomes a non-story.
ReplyDeleteWhat an indifference a Day makes.
ReplyDeleteNot fair. Not fair at all.
But not surprising. Not surprising at all.
Unless he wins another tourney within a fortnight, of course.
He's got the looks and the story and now he's got a US win. What he's got to do is win with a deeper field... then do well in a major and he'll be on everyone's radar.
ReplyDeleteHe's definitely less annoying then Adam Scott.
ReplyDeleteYour right about his story line, it's very compelling because with what he went through he could have easily ended up... on the wrong side of the law. I thing Colin is a major part of the story and it looks like Jason fully realizes that. I hope we see lots more of them both this summer.
ReplyDeletePatricia, I think Jason has just been "written off" by the people who cover golf. He was hyped as the next big thing when he came off the Nationwide Tour, but then he didn't suddenly vault into stardom. You know how the golf media is: Are you Top 5 in the world rankings? No? Then move along... And then his win wasn't a spectacular win, just a plain old hang-on-and-get-the-w win.
ReplyDeleteIs it fair? No. Is Jason the kind of kid we'd like to see become a role model? Quite possibly. But will the media give him his due? Probably not. Look at how Y.E. Yang has been treated... and he made history against Tiger.
I think this is one area where golf bloggers make a difference. We can cover the stories, not the hype... as you're doing by giving Jason some love with this post.
This is such an awesome post!! The main stream media chooses who to cover but they are still behind the times (too traditional) in what people want...the real stories like these! Real people doing GREAT things! Not just flashy things but awesome things..if they covered more of it they would even get more of what they want ratings and more viewers! ;-) More stories of their lives not just their tournaments! Just look at the recent LPGA coverage of Karen Stupples @Kstupples awesome story! There are SO many GREAT stories...they need to dig them up and cover them. Awesome story THANKS for doing it!!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the mainstream golf writers and broadcasters are lazy and ill informed. They cream their pants whenever Phil or Tiger is in contention, or if they get an easy story handed to them on a plate (like Kenny at Augusta last year, or Tom at The Open), but they whine like little babies if they have to cover someone like Day or Crane win a tournament.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work. Love your commentary.
You guys are hitting the nail on the head in the comments section. The coverage of the final pairing of last week's Byron Nelson was weak. I just found out today, through a great post on Armchair Golf Blog (http://bit.ly/9PcO65) that Blake Adams lives in the middle of nowhere in a town with a population of 100 (Not 100,000. Not 10,000. Not 1,000. One hundred people!) and practices by hitting balls on a dirt road which he retrieves himself (with a little help from his Labrador Retriever).
ReplyDeleteAdams and Day have great back stories that those in the mainstream golf media neglected to share, which is too bad.
By the way, here's the satellite image of the town Blake Adams calls 'home'. (http://bit.ly/bue7iX). I have no idea which house is his.
Jim Dauer
FullForesome.com