As Jason Day was honing his craft on the course as a boy inspired by the deeds of Tiger Woods, the American great was not the only sporting influence in his life.
The Queenslander, who will make his debut for Australia in the Olympic Games next week, can remember being caught up in the gold medal-winning bounty claimed by the nation’s champion swimmers.
Day, who attended the Kooralbyn International School and Hills International College to further his golf game, said super fishes such as Ian Thorpe and Kieran Perkins caught his eye.
In a quick chat after the 36-year-old finished in a tie for 13th at Royal Troon in the British Open on Sunday, he said the champion Dolphins swim team were childhood heroes.
“I did an essay on Kieran Perkins and Ian Thorpe when we were in school,” he told foxsports.com.au.
“They were my two heroes, because we were really good at swimming, and that is the thing Australians were known for, our swimming.
“I can remember watching Grant Hackett a lot as well, and also Geoff Huegill. Those were the guys I loved to watch. That was something that I always watched.”
The 2015 US PGA champion will be making up for lost time when he arrives in France to play at the National Golf Club, which is situated in Versailles, about 40km from the centre of Paris.
Back in 2016 Day, a former world No.1, decided to withdraw from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics citing his concerns about the potential impact of the mosquito-borne zika virus.
The 36-year-old, whose dad Alvin died when he was 12, was a father of two at the time and said that he and his wife Ellie wanted to expand their family when calculating that the risk posed was too great.
“Medical experts have confirmed that while perhaps slight, a decision to compete in Rio comes with health risks to me and my family,” he said in 2016.
“My wife Ellie and I have been blessed with two wonderful and healthy children and our plan is to have more.
“While it has always been a major goal to compete in the Olympics on behalf of my country, playing golf cannot take precedence for the safety of my family. I hope all golf and Olympic fans respect and understand my decision.”
Day, who now has five children, zipped back to Ohio to spend time with his family after finishing off in style at Troon with a 3-under 68 and will miss the opening ceremony after spending the last month on the road.
His caddie and long-time friend Luke Reardon, who was in school alongside Day when he was writing essays about his Australian heroes, will march in his place.
“I mean, with five kids and my wife, it is too much. But Luke, my caddie, he’s going to,” he said.
“We’re going to go home tonight and then he’s flying out, I think, on Wednesday to do it. It’s unfortunate that I can’t this year, but hopefully in four more years in LA, I’d love to do it then.”
Day, who will partner Min Woo Lee in an Australian team also featuring the latter’s sister Minjee Lee and Hannah Green, said missing Rio sharpened his desire to play in the Olympics.
Having struggled with debilitating bouts of vertigo for a period after reaching the pinnacle of golf along with a bad back, Day has zoomed back up the rankings now fully fit.
He won his first PGA Tour title in five years at the Byron Nelson in Dallas last year and finished second at the Open in 2023, completing a career slam in majors when it comes to finishing second. He currently sits at a ranking of 31, which earned him a spot this year.
“It was nice to be able to play really well last year and get myself into position and then … start off well at the start of the year, because that was one of my goals, to get in the Olympic team,” he said.
“I’ve never done it before. I had an opportunity and kind of wish I did … end up going in the end. At the end of the day, I was one or two in the world going into that week, going into the Olympics, and had a legitimate chance (to win gold), obviously, with the way I was playing.
“You live and you learn and kind of move on. But, yeah, I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be good.”
The challenges presented by Royal Troon over the past week should stand Day, whose hopes at Troon were dashed with a 5-over the card back nine on Saturday when playing in the worst of the wild weather, in good stead for the test at Le National.
“Now I can get home (and) start preparing for Paris. I’ve never played the golf course,” he said.
“I’ve heard it’s pretty lush with fescue, but it’s kind of green stuff, so it’s not like where it’s brown and you can get out of it. I’ve heard it’s pretty lush and heavy.
“(You have) got to really hit your golf ball well there. But to be honest, I feel like the game is kind of moving in the right direction. There’s a lot of good positive things moving out of this week going into Paris.”
Day is also looking forward to the opportunity to watch his fellow Australian Olympians in action when the chance arises.
The Australian golf team is staying in a satellite hub just outside of Paris but Day is itching to get some of the action, with the tennis and boxing not too far away at Roland Garros, while gymnastics is among sports being hosted in the south of the French capital in Bercy.
“We are a little far out but I would love to try to get somewhere if it’s close by,” he said.
“It’s kind of weird, because nowadays, before, from what I could understand, if you were an athlete, you could flash your badge and walk in – but that’s not the way it works anymore.
“You kind of have to trade tickets, so I’m just going to get in and have a chat to the team and see if there’s anything close by that we can kind of go over to, because it would be great to try to catch some Aussies playing whatever sport that is close by.”
Source Agencies
