Jason Day has got form for making sure the lowest of career lows is swiftly followed by the highest of career highs.
This time last year the Australian was gaining a reputation as golf’s latest nearly man for whom getting in the mix on the last day of a major was becoming the norm, but so too was falling short.
The Open at St Andrews was as bad as it got, with Day inexplicably leaving a final hole birdie putt short to miss out on a play-off by one.
It proved to be a career turning point however, with Open heartbreak transformed into USPGA Championship success just a few weeks later.
Now, after his WGC Bridgestone Invitational collapse brought back painful St Andrews memories, Day is hoping that history will repeat itself again with a display of previously-shown powers of recovery.
Asked if there has been a failure which has motivated him as highly as his 2015 Open experience, Day replied: “Two weeks ago, whatever it was.
“Yeah, that was pretty motivating.
“It’s more about learning because I learn more when I fail than when I win.
“Even though I don’t like losing it was great to be able to learn some things and try to move forward and get better. You have to look at it in a positive light. OK, I did this for a reason.
“I’ve got to try and get better and move on. If I can do that, I can’t do anything but go up.”
He added: “Coming so close last year was definitely a motivational factor in that I would love to one day hold the Claret Jug and be able to put my name down in history with the best that have ever lived and played the game.
“It was the start of my run where everything kind of changed my world, really.”
Day has set his sights high when it comes to becoming one of the game’s great finishers.
“We got spoilt with Tiger Woods,” he explained. “How he dominated through his years. That’s what we’re shooting for, to be able to finish off like he did back in the day.
“Will I ever get to a point like that? Maybe not. But that’s what I’m shooting for right now.”
Day and Woods have become good friends in recent years, and the world number one hasn’t been shy in getting advice from the 14-time major winner.
He said: “When I talk to him, it’s about how mentally tough he was.
“When he didn’t have his best stuff, he would just find a way to get it done. His game plan was, ‘I’ve just got to get this ball in the hole’.
“If it was trying to catch someone, he wanted to cut that lead down maybe one or two shots. Just cutting into that lead will show that there’s presence there. In the same way, if you have the lead, being able to extend that lead shows that you’re playing some pretty strong golf.”
Despite missing out on the Claret Jug last year, Day left Fife with new-found self-belief.
“I just felt really calm,” he recalled. “It was the Open Championship, but I really wasn’t thinking that it was a major championship, and I really didn’t feel like it was like any other day. It was just a strange feeling that I just felt so calm about things, and no matter what happened, it was going to be OK.
“I think subconsciously I just finally got over the hurdle that it’s your time to start winning and play well. And I think I finally found that belief in myself to be able to really say: ‘You’re a good player. You deserve to win these if you put yourself in these opportunities.’”
