Written by Bob Harig at ABC News.com
Playing 85 holes of golf after barely being able to limp off the course hardly seems the prescription for a bad back. Swinging at 120 mph, hitting countless practice balls, walking up and down hills … Jason Day ought to be in an infirmary, not the winner’s circle.
But the Australian overcame back spasms that threatened to bounce him from the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship on Wednesday to win his second tournament in as many weeks and his sixth in his past 13 starts worldwide.
So much for the talk of a slow start that dominated Day’s world just 11 days ago. With his 5 and 4 victory on Sunday against Louis Oosthuizen in the final, Day has matched countryman Adam Scott with two wins since the season began in October and put his name squarely in the conversation — if he wasn’t there already — of Masters contenders who will convene at Augusta National prior to the start of the year’s first major championship.
“I am looking forward to it,” said Day, who captured his second Match Play title in three years and dispatched Rory McIlroy in a morning semifinal match. “It’s the one tournament that I’ve always wanted to win. I’ve always wanted to put the [green] jacket on and go back every year. It’s good momentum for me.”
And to think on Wednesday, he had to kneel down on the green as his first match withGraeme McDowell concluded. That he described the pain in his lower back as “searing.” That when he arrived at the golf course on Thursday morning after all manner of treatment, he warmed up on the driving range at Austin Country Club and wasn’t sure he would be able to play.
Perhaps more amazing, he had several members of his team tell him not to play, to rest and recuperate and not risk further discomfort or injury. “I’m glad I didn’t listen,” he said, smiling.
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