Day says Nationwide Tour brought game to next level

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Day shot 68 in the final round to finish in a tie for second at the Masters.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Jason Day stood outside the understated clubhouse at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday with a grin that could light up an Australian sunrise.

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Day, a rising 23-year-old star, had just completed his first Masters and had stood toe-to-toe with the best players in the world as he wound up tied for second with fellow Aussie Adam Scott. They were two strokes behind winner Charl Schwartzel of South Africa who birdied the last four holes to win the 75th Masters in a wild final round.

Day couldn't help but be thankful for his rise to prominence thanks to his time on the Nationwide Tour in 2007.

It was during that season that Day found his footing in pro golf on the Nationwide Tour with a victory and several top 10s. He did all of this as a 19-year-old, becoming the youngest in Tour history to get a victory.

"If it wasn't for the Nationwide Tour I wouldn't be here today," Day said as he looked around toward the clubhouse a few minutes after shooting his final round 68. "I needed that year of playing professional golf... I needed to find out who I was and the Nationwide Tour provided a big confidence boost for me as I went to the PGA TOUR."

Not only did he learn the nuances of pro golf he learned patience that most 19-year-olds don't have time to learn.

Stardom had been predicated for Day since his days of tearing up the junior-golf circuit, but it wasn't until his time on the Nationwide Tour that he started to fulfill some of that promise.

"I wouldn't have been ready for the PGA TOUR if I didn't play on the Nationwide Tour that year in '07," Day said rather bluntly.

He made it to the PGA TOUR in 2008 and hasn't looked back, and now is in the midst of his breakthrough season.

"Patience is what I really learned, obviously," Day said about 2007 where he won the Legend Financial Group Classic. "There were a bunch of things I was able to learn by playing on the Nationwide Tour. I needed to play a lot more tournament golf and how it was to play every week and what it felt like."

Day's record of youngest to win on the Nationwide Tour could stand for quite awhile. He's proud of the fact that he was able to navigate a full pro season despite his age.

"I was able to win once and finish in the top 10 a bunch of times and that really helped my confidence," Day said. "It's been an amazing journey from my time on the Nationwide Tour to my time on the PGA TOUR and to how I played this week."

Watching Day's rise has been his wife, Ellie, who he happened to start dating during that year on the Nationwide Tour.

"It's funny but I think he asked me out the week before he won," said Ellie, who is 24. "I was living in Columbus, Ohio at the time and we had known each other for awhile but then it was getting serious around that time."

Ellie admits she didn't know much about golf or even what the Nationwide Tour was back then.

"I didn't really know what he was doing," she said. "But looking back it was a big thing for him to be a part of that Tour."

The couple has been married for a year and half, and she said that following Jason around for four days at hilly Augusta National was surreal. "I screamed a lot," she said.

Ellie said that despite Jason's inexperience with being in contention at a major championship he was so calm, especially during the final round. "He never showed any signs that he was nervous," she said.

What makes it even more remarkable is the road Day took to get to this point. When Day was 12 his father died after a battle with stomach cancer and Day admits that he lost discipline and soon became a troubled teenager who partied too much and stayed out too late.

"Losing a family member so young, especially losing your dad, it's a pretty big loss in your family. It broke up our family a lot. My sister and I, we went pretty badly. There was me getting in trouble at school, doing stupid stuff," he told reporters in 2007. "I didn't really care about anything. I was very wild. I got into trouble a lot."

He eventually got back on track and golf turned into his main focus as he began his rise as a junior.

Day has now been on center stage in one of the biggest tournaments in the world, and his future looks bright.

He was a big hit in the interview room at the Masters with his candor and his wide-eyed approach to his first Masters. He was loose and his play was superb from tee to green. He nearly became the first Masters rookie since Fuzzy Zoeller won in 1979.

Day summed up his first Masters as best he could.

"It was such a great experience," he said. "It was even better than I thought it would be, probably because I was able to play pretty well."

John Dell has covered golf for the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina for the last 17 years. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR. You can reach him at johndell@triad.rr.com.