Jason Day fell flat on his face last week at the U.S. Open.
He had some famous company — Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy went home early as well.
The early departures pushed McIlroy down to No. 3, Day to No. 4 in the Official World Golf Rankings to make room for Hideki Matsuyama who now sits at No. 2 thanks to his tie for second at Erin Hills.
Day didn’t just miss the cut, he didn’t even come close with rounds of 79-75 — a whopping 10-over par on a course that was giving up birdies like a Milwaukee muni.
“I enjoyed the walk. The walk was great. The course is actually really beautiful. And I just unfortunately didn’t execute,” Day lamented.
After Day’s Thursday meltdown at Erin Hills, he received a text from Tiger Woods.
“He texted me after I shot 79 and said, ‘hey, before you work on something call me because I saw something.’ I was like yeah, you saw 79 shots. I didn’t call him because I was so angry,” Day recounted.
In keeping with that theme, Day had another poor outing Thursday morning at The Travelers. He opened with a two-over par 72 on a golf course where 75, yes, 75 players shot under par on opening day.
Can you say slump?
It’s been a lackluster season for Day in 2017. Outside a tie for fifth at Pebble Beach and a runner-up at the Bryon Nelson, there hasn’t been much to talk about for the Aussie.
Day had a really tough time from the get-go at TPC River Highlands. He played the back nine first and couldn’t find a birdie. A double and a bogey gave him a 38 at turn, putting him in a deep hole immediately.
Part of Day’s season has been hampered by some physical ailments but he’s been healthy for a while now.
If his mind’s not in the game, he may still be preoccupied by his mother’s battle with cancer.
Whatever is happening, Day still has time. He has two majors ahead of him and the rest of the season, including the President’s Cup and the FedEx Playoffs.
Perhaps he should call Woods, if nothing else, hearing about Woods’ woes should make Day feel a lot better about himself.
If not, he needs to sort things out quickly. He’s tumbling in the World Rankings and missed cuts don’t suit him well.
PGA Tour Talk:
There’s a lot of speculative fallout from the surprise announcement this week that Jim “Bones” Mackay and Phil Mickelson have ended their player-caddie relationship after a 25 -year run.
Jon Rahm quickly shot down the rumor that Mackay would pick up his bag.
Same for Jordan Spieth, who re-affirmed that Michael Greller is his “Bones.”
With both knees replaced and at age 51, does Mackay even want to keep toting heavy golf bag or would he rather shoot for a television gig? That would make the most sense.
Who will replace Bones on Phil’s bag?
Well, there’s a pretty good caddie who doesn’t work any more and his name is Joe LaCava. You may recall that after he left Fred Couples, LaCava caddied for Dustin Johnson briefly but left him when Woods offered him a job after Stevie Williams bolted. Probably one of the worst decisions a caddie could make, looking back on where Woods is and where D.J. is these days. Is LaCava tired of waiting for Woods? He needs to face the reality that Woods may never make it back, certainly not to a level that will allow him to be competitive.
Time for LaCava to dial up Mickelson.
