Breakthrough PGA Championship Win Is Just the Beginning of Jason Day's Triumphs

If you hadn’t known better, it might have been difficult to tell them apart.

Though Sunday playing partner Jordan Spieth was the one with two big trophies and “he’s the next Tiger” hyperbole, it was Jason Day who looked every bit the final-round superstar.

And if the 22-year-old Spieth and 26-year-old Rory McIlroy are this generation’s Tiger 2.0s, perhaps Day, at 27, is now a new-age Lefty.

Though Phil Mickelson turned pro in 1992 with a tour win already in hand, it took a while longer—nearly 12 full years, in fact—for him to finally pick up one of the four most sought-after trophies in 2004.

He’s added four more to the collection since then, and the street cred those wins created make it difficult to recall when he was laden with the “best player to never win a major” tag.

So now that he’s done away with that burden and hoisted a Wanamaker of his own, the popular Aussie can go about making himself a phenomenon, too.

“It’s been a lot of years now,” CBS analyst Nick Faldo said, as Day strode up the 18th fairway with victory in hand, “but I think we’re approaching another Big Three in the game of golf.”

Not only did Day’s consistency for four rounds at Whistling Straits allow him to finally get “credentialed”—tour jargon for those who’ve broken through at the most significant events—it seemingly also set the stage for a player many believe will be the next to assemble a slew of major wins.

“He's served his apprenticeship getting into the right positions and dealing with the pressure,” said Faldo, himself a six-time major winner. “After all those chances, it looks like it’s his time to shine.”

It certainly was this week. And then some.

In fact, the 67 that Day shot over the final 18 holes to officially seal the PGA Championship deal might not have been the most impressive part of the coronation. Instead, it was the way he reacted—or more accurately, really didn’t react—to having the game’s next savior breathing hotly down his neck.

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

When Spieth hit a good shot, Day responded with a good shot.

When Spieth hit an imprudent shot, Day made him pay with a smart shot.

Regardless of the street cred the Masters and U.S. Open champion came with—and the way the guys in the CBS broadcast tower reacted whenever he scrambled out of trouble—neither Day’s strategy nor his demeanor ever seemed to change. And there was never a single moment, no matter how much Faldo or Jim Nantz sought to create one, where it appeared a stretch-drive duel was imminent.

His final score of 20-under par was the best ever carded by a player in a major championship.

And it gave ample evidence that when the next clash arrives, he won’t arrive without weapons.

“A phenomenal talent. A major champion,” Nantz said of Day after the clinching putt, as the tearful winner was quickly enveloped by his caddy, his young son and his pregnant wife.

“As sweet a scene as you’ll ever see on the 18th green.”

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

Now that past demons have been slain, it probably won’t be the last time it’s witnessed.

Day’s major history looked sure to read differently based on his earliest results, when he tied for 10th in the 2010 PGA at Whistling Straits and briefly shared the lead at the Masters the following spring before finishing tied for second. He’d since placed ninth or better seven more times in majors, including 54-hole leads at the U.S. Open and British Open this year.

The former in 2015 resulted in a tie for ninth after Day faced a dizzying battle with vertigo, while the latter was flat-out sorrow after he fell short with a 72nd-hole putt that would have yielded a berth in a playoff. But now that he’s broken through at last, the impression that he’s a crunch-time second banana is instantly replaced by a vibe that his all-around game will place him among the favorites at every future event.

No matter the course characteristics or terrain.

“It’s been a long journey. It’s an amazing feeling, after the work I’ve put into my game since I was a 12-year-old kid,” Day told CBS’ Bill Macatee after smooching the trophy for the first time. “I didn’t expect I was going to cry. A lot of emotion has come out because I’ve been so close in major championships and fallen short. Really close. So, to be able to play the way I did and finish the way I did, it feels amazing.”

He won’t always beat Spieth on Sundays. And McIlroy will undoubtedly be around, too.

But if you’re drafting third in your next golf pool, there’s no doubt you could do a lot worse.