MCKINNEY, Texas – Lightning flashed and thunder clapped Sunday above the 18th green at TPC Craig Ranch during the closing moments of the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson. And from the comfort of the clubhouse after already posting a 9-under 62 several minutes prior, Jason Day watched Austin Eckroat’s lengthy eagle putt attempt from the fringe of the par-5 18th come up empty as Day ended a five-year drought to capture his 13th PGA Tour victory.
The more than 1,800 days separating Day’s previous win at the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship and his second-career Nelson victory Sunday made for a trying stretch. Between health issues for Day, the death of his mother last spring and other hurdles in front of him, the 35-year-old from Australia said he reached a point where he asked himself if there was still another chapter to be written in his professional golf career.
That answer became clear Sunday as Day carded the low-round of the day for an emotional Mother’s Day victory — his wife, Ellie, and their children watching — at the very event where he captured his first Tour win back in 2010.
“I was in tears for a little bit there,” Day said. “To think about what my mom went through from 2017 on to her passing last year and then to now that, it was very emotional to go through and to experience what she was going through, then I had injuries on top of all of that going on in my life.
“To be honest, I was very close to calling it quits. … Ellie, she never gave up on me trying to get back to the winner’s circle again. She just always was pushing me to try and get better.”
And the memory of his mother, Dening, who died last March after a bout with cancer, was with Day when he started his final round.
“It didn’t hit me until I looked at my caddie and he had his back to me on the first green, and I’m like, ‘oh, that’s my mom’s name,’ ” Day said. “That’s when it kind of hit me where I was like, oh, it’s — because they asked at the start of the week if you wanted to put down a certain name, and my mom’s name was it, and that’s when it kind of hit me, on the first green today. I guess when you get in the heat of the battle and you’re trying to win a tournament, especially for me over the last five years, I haven’t won one, you kind of quickly just go, OK, I’ve got to compartmentalize my priorities here and focus on trying to win this golf tournament. At least get myself into contention to win it.”
Much has changed in the 13 years since that first Nelson win, including a new home for a tournament that was still held at nearby TPC Four Seasons in Las Colinas when Day had his breakthrough. But if there was any lesson from it all that Day applied over the past four days at Craig Ranch, patience was atop the list. And patience paid off Sunday as Day won in comeback fashion, defeating Eckroat and Si Woo Kim by one stroke at 23 under.
“I wish I had the experience I have now [when I first won the Nelson],” Day said. “[I’ve learned] just to be patient. Golf is a strange sport because you can’t perfect golf. You’re going to have a lot of highs and a lot of lows, probably more lows than a lot of highs. It’s very difficult to win on the Tour.”
On Sunday, the edge in experience that Day brought to the table wasn’t difficult to see compared to some other contenders, some who were vying for their first career win. One of them in the final group behind Day, Marty Dou, looked as if he was perhaps orchestrating a career-defining day. Through seven holes, Dou owned a two-shot edge at 20 under on his adopted home course. But then came a double-bogey for Dou on the par-4 8th that flung the door wide open for at least a dozen golfers in contention – world No. 2 ranked and hometown favorite Scottie Scheffler included – before Day ultimately made the most of the opportunity.
Provided 25 under and 26 under were the winning scores at Craig Ranch in 2021 and 2022, respectively, Day and the rest of the field knew an attention-grabbing score would likely be required to go home a winner. But sometimes, slow and steady wins the race. And Day knew he didn’t need to force the issue on a course where birdie opportunities were abundant from start to finish.
“Getting through the first nine holes and seeing anything could happen on the last nine holes, that was my main point,” Day said. “I was like, OK, if I can get a — I thought anywhere 6-under or more, that would be great. I think if you get [20 under or more for the event], you’d give yourself a shot.”
Day gave himself that shot, to say the least. His scorecard was clean from start to finish as he enjoyed a bogey-free round while carding nine birdies, tied for the most by any golfer during the final round. That included a back-nine 30, highlighted by a chip-in birdie on the 12th hole that was converted to a par 4 for 2023 after playing as an accessible par 5 the past two years. Day’s second shot landed off the back left edge of the green, almost exactly in the same spot where Scheffler put his second shot in the group ahead of Day.
But while Scheffler settled for par, Day was able to drain the chip and take the outright lead for the first time in the tournament. Day admitted after his round that he entered the 12th hole simply hoping to card a par, but the eventual Nelson champion wasn’t complaining about a birdie on one of the more challenging holes Craig Ranch had to offer, simplifying a stretch in which Day knew he needed scores in the red before doing exactly that. Birdies came on the driveable par-4 14th and ensuing par-3 15th before his ninth came on the closing hole.
“That was a nice kick in the right direction,” Day said of his chip-in on 12. “I was sitting there going, okay, I need to birdie No. 14 and I need to birdie No. 18 because they’re two holes that you have to birdie, that the guys are going to birdie. It was nice to get through that, and then the bonus was No. 15.”
There was a degree of uncertainty as Day approached the 18th tee box, a one-stroke lead in hand and heavier rain starting to fall from the North Texas skies. Day’s ensuing tee shot missed in the left rough, forcing him to lay up short of the green guarded by a creek in front. But it gave Day the chance to dazzle one last time while delivering the dagger, sticking a 79-yard approach tight before sinking the short birdie putt. Kim, meanwhile, was unable to find the magic for what would have been a playoff-forcing eagle out of the greenside bunker before Eckroat’s final attempt fell short a group later.
For Day, the win was the culmination of a week in which he knew something felt different in a good way. Even after missing the cut just a week ago at Quail Hollow Club, a battle-tested Day felt he was due to finally turn a corner before making that vision a reality.
“For some reason, I just thought that I was going to win the tournament,” Day said. “It’s easy to say that now because I won it, but that’s just — for some reason I just had this sort of calmness about it. I had a really good warmup this morning and felt good.”
As the focus now shifts to Oak Hill Country Club outside of Rochester for the 2023 PGA Championship, Day leaves Craig Ranch not only with a roughly $1.7 million paycheck, but also a Texas-sized jolt of confidence as he looks to capture a second major championship victory.
Much like the past four days in the Dallas-area suburbs, patience paid off as Day looks to continue what he hopes is a career renaissance. The wait for another victory was a lengthy one for Day and his camp, but one he says was well worth it.
“A lot of that success today was based off a lot of the groundwork — six months ago, a year ago, two years ago — that built [my] game to where it is today, where I can succeed on a level like this,” Day said. “I know that delayed gratification is probably the best feeling of all time. Instant gratification is great, but delayed gratification is the best.”
Jason Day gets his first victory in five years at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Kyle Porter and Greg DuCharme break down a low scoring day on Mother’s Day. It’s storylines, scorecards, recapping bets and the one and done. Then, KP and Greg open up PGA Championship discussions. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.