Jason Day relived memories of the late, great Seve Ballesteros in making a birdie from a cart path midway through his round on day one of the AT & T Byron Nelson in Texas.
Day hit a booming 326–yard drive well right at the par four 11th hole that came to rest on a cart path and just less than 3o–yards from the hole.
And with TV analysts suggesting the new World No. 3 had no chance of finding the green the Queenslander defied the critics chipping off the concrete pathway to brilliantly land his ball 12–feet from the flag.
Then to leave those commentators even more speechless, Day brilliantly holed the birdie putt and much to the delight of a huge gathering following the winner of the event in 2o1o, and in what was then his maiden PGA Tour title.
Cart path? No problem. 👏🐦@JDayGolf is inside the top 10.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/n6WtLS2gAa
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 18, 2017
Ballesteros made more than a name for himself in getting up–and–down from some miraculous scenarios.
There is plaque deep in the tree–line, and close to an eight–foot high wall, where Seve played a shot to force a play–off at the 1993 European Masters.
However, there was the recovery shots of all recovery shots for Seve at the 1979 Open where Seve drove his 16th tee shot on the final day into a car park, and then conjured a miracle recovery on to the green and holed the birdie putt on route to the first of three Open titles.
Jason Day just needs 23 Putts on day one of the AT & T Byron Nelson.
“It’s kind of a hard shot as in this wind I think everyone is kind of scrambling, you know so I was not going to drop the ball way back on to the other side of the road,” Day said.
“It was just in long grass and I wouldn’t have been able to pop it out. It was quite a simple shot. You just had to contact it correctly, contact it well, just get over and roll down the hill.
“So, sometimes you can get away with those ones. Obviously, I got lucky off the cart and bounced back. I think for the most part everyone kind of scrambled a little bit today but I have good memories coming around this golf course, my first win as a Tour professional and I have three more days to go”.
However, Day will not want to remember the events of four days earlier, and coming off the worst score of the PGA Tour and that being a shock final round 8o in the defence of his Players Championship, eventually signed for a two-under par 68 to join fellow Aussies Marc Leishman and Greg Chambers sharing 14th in the $US 7.5m event.
While Day produced some brilliance at his 11th hole it was a roller-coaster outward half that included holing a 25-foot putt for an eagle “4” at the seventh hole.
Though either side of the eagle was bogeys and with Day dropped a first shot at the fourth but then moments earlier getting his round underway in sinking a 13-footer for birdie at the par three second hole.
After the heroics on 11, Day bogeyed 14 and then sunk a curling 28-footer for birdie on the last.
“It was a bit of everything out there today so finish with a two-under is very pleasing,” he said.
“The wind out there this afternoon made conditions really tough so hopefully going back out there in the morning, the wind will be a little calmer.”
And in stark contrast to last Sunday, Day needed just 23 putts that translated to just 132-feet of putting.
There was also a poignant aspect to the round will all the Australians in the field wearing a special patch with a Rubik Cube in honour of John Sendon’s young son, Jacob who has been diagnosed with a brain tumour.
“It’s not easy to go through whatever it is, if it’s loved ones, people you know, it’s never good things, especially as a child, his boy, you never want that to happen to a child,” said Day.
“It’s really, really sad. Like you say, I’ve got two kids and could never even fathom thinking about going through something like that. It breaks my heart for him and, you know, I’m just hoping and praying for the best for him and his family because it is a difficult time for him.
“I went through some cancer stuff with my mom this year and I know exactly what he’s feeling like with regard to that but it’s just — you know, you can’t do anything but just hope and pray that everything is going to be fine and the chemotherapy and the radiation he’s going through will minimise the tumour that he has right now.
“Clearly, everyone is thinking about him, everyone is wearing the patch and the Rubik Cube. We’re hoping for all the best.”
The American duo of Rickie Barnes and John Hahn share the lead with six-under par 64s while World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is already well-positioned at three-under par.
