Jason Day Withdraws From Pro-Am, But Don’t Write Him Off at the Memorial

The Highlights

• Jason Day withdrew from Wednesday's pro-am at the Memorial Tournament due to an illness.
• Day did this exact thing at the 2015 Barclays and 2018 Farmers, and won both events.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Jason Day gets sick a lot.

The latest case occurred this week, as an illness forced Day to withdraw from Wednesday’s pro-am at the Memorial Tournament, held at Muirfield Village, where he is a member. He is still eligible to compete in the tournament, beginning Thursday.

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The world’s eighth-ranked player will often explain away the recurring maladies by insisting that having two young kids at home makes him more susceptible to germs and subsequent illnesses, but there are plenty of fathers in similar situations who don’t suffer the same impact.

Don’t get me wrong: Nobody is accusing Day of faking or even embellishing these ailments. If anything, he’s too honest about them, once lamenting to a room full of reporters that he was suffering from “the sniffles.”

Over the years, Day has missed competitive events due to a bout with vertigo, a notoriously balky back and family issues surrounding both his wife and mother.

All of those are obviously acceptable excuses — as are the illnesses. There’s no rule stating that a PGA Tour player must compete if he isn’t feeling 100%.

In a tournament loaded with superstars and a bevy of appealing mid-tier prospects, the pro-am withdrawal might cause some to write off Day for the week.

But that'd be unwise.

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Back at the 2015 Barclays, Day withdrew from the Wednesday pro-am with tweaked back, then won the tournament four days later. And earlier this year, at the Farmers Insurance Open, Day similarly WD’d from the pro-am and again won the tournament title.

There’s an old adage in golf that states: Beware the injured golfer.

In the curious case of Day, that saying should be expanded to include the sick golfer, as well.

Following his withdrawal, Day clearly isn’t 100% this week. All of which means, based on recent history, we should keep a keen eye on him for the next four days.