Tiger Woods and Jason Day in February at the Genesis Invitational.
Getty Images
Jason Day laughs now because it’s funny to him on several levels. For one, Tiger Woods answered his question self-deprecatingly. But there’s also a nugget of hard truth to the answer that makes Day smile, too.
The question?
What kept you at number 1 for so long?
day was speaking on this week’s The Smylie Show — which you can listen in full here — where part of the conversation looked at Day’s time at the top of the golf world, and specifically the commitment to get there. Podcast host, Smiley Kaufmannoted that Day’s dedication reminded him of Woods, and that led to this response:
“You had to, it was — to get the best, it’s a lifestyle choice,” Day said on the podcast. “Your whole life should be in that goal of being the best. You can’t – it’s too hard. Some of the guys can do it. Like one Dustin Johnson and some of these other guys, they can naturally get to #1, and how do you do that so easily? … They don’t train as hard as you or I, they’re just naturally gifted in a way that they can do it and it just doesn’t seem like it affects their lifestyle too much.
“And then there are people like me and even Tiger, for example.”
Woods? Really? At this point in the podcast, Day shared the story of his question — and Woods’ 14-word answer.
“I always laugh at that because — hey, what kept you at No. 1 for so long?” Day said on the podcast. “And he’d look at me and go, I’m not as talented as you, so I had to work harder than you.
“It seems to me, this is such a load of shit. You are much more talented than me. But again, what he did brilliantly was he matched great technique with incredible work ethic and also a great mental game. When you have that three-point effect, it’s just going to bring success.”
Was Day more talented than Woods? Did Woods work harder than Day with 69 more wins than him? (Woods has 82 wins; Day 13.) Was Woods kidding himself? Was that jabbing day? We’ll let you figure that out.
But Day also praised Woods’ move. Day, too, left no golf ball unturned.
“Going back to No. in the world, it was, what am I eating, how am I sleeping, is there some drama in my life that I need to get rid of?” Day said on the podcast. “Because the amount of stuff that’s going on personally at home affects you on the golf course, so you have to understand that having a toxic relationship or having drama off the golf course actually affects you on the golf course. Then you go, what’s my training schedule, how’s my work in my gym, and then you have to attack it from all different angles and go, OK, fine, everything’s working fine, go out and play, and after my goal, if it’s me wanting to do it and I’m willing to push it, then, at some point, if all those things work out right, you’ll get there.
“But, god, it’s hard.”
Editor’s Note: To listen to the entire “The Smylie Show” podcast with Day, please click here. And to see Day in GOLF’s Breakthrough, please click here or scroll down.
