Jason Day’s days without a major victory are numbered. The 27-year old Aussie has proven to be one of the best golfers in the world, but he has consistently come up short in the majors. However, there’s every reason to believe that Day will finally end his drought at the last major of the year, the 2015 PGA Championship, which will be held from August 13-16 at Whistling Straits.
Let’s take a look at our top three reasons why Day will lift his first ever major title on Sunday. Meanwhile, check out our other compelling features on why Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and even Tiger Woods will win the PGA Championship.
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Three Reasons Why Jason Day Will Win the 2015 PGA Championship
Major Success in Majors
Jason Day is really, really good at major tournaments. Just how good? Well, consider that in 20 career majors he’s entered in his career, he’s finished in the top 10 nine times, with six top five finishes and three runners-up spots (the 2011 Masters, 2011 US Open and 2013 US Open). That’s quite an impressive resume.
[sc:Golf240banner ]Of course, the one big problem with Day is that he’s becoming a bit like the new Sergio Garcia: an incredibly talented golfer who always seems to fall painfully short when it comes to the majors.
However, it’ll be pretty foolish to discount Day for those past failures alone. The oddsmakers sure aren’t discounting the 27-year old, who is a +1,000 contender to win his first major in Whistling Straits. The Aussie is certainly well worth that price given that he’s almost always in the hunt, and is currently having a terrific year.
His Best Year to Date
In fact, 2015 is shaping up to be Day’s best year yet. He currently ranks No. 4 in both the Official World Golf Ranking and the FedEx Cup standings. Two of his four career tournament wins have come this year – the Farmers Insurance Open in February and the RBC Canadian Open in late July. Of the 14 PGA Tour events he’s entered this year, he’s finished in the top 10 in exactly half of them.
Two of those seven top 10 finishes are his most recent major near-misses. He had a valiant ninth-place finish at the US Open despite having to battle through a bout of vertigo. And in the British Open, he was the leader entering the final round and came up just short of making it to a playoff in the final hole.
Day also displayed in those two tournaments just how badly he wants to win a major. He could’ve so easily exited the US Open with a credible excuse, but instead he chose to soldier on. And during the Open, he was in tears after failing to sink the birdie he needed in that last hole. After suffering those setbacks, Day will definitely not be short on motivation heading into the last major of the year.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a notable weakness in Day’s game. He’s one of the best drivers on Tour, ranking second this year in driving distance (311.5 yards). His approach game is very solid, as shown by his 69.29 success rate when going for the green (fifth-best on Tour). He’s also second only behind Spieth in putting average, and is a solid 20th in strokes gained from putting.
However, his ability to get out of tough spots could be what sets him apart in the bunker-filled course over at Whistling Straits. He ranks 20th in sand save percentage this season, and 10th in scrambling.
Whistling Straits will play more like a classic links course this year, which should suit Day’s well-rounded game just fine. Despite battling vertigo, he still finished inside the top 10 in the equally challenging links course of Chambers Bay, host of the US Open earlier this year.
Day has also shown that his game fits right in with Whistling Straits. He finished in the top 10 the last time the PGA Championship was played on the course in 2010, and posted the second-highest single-round score in the tournament (66). He has only gotten better since then, and he’s going to show it by winning this weekend.
