Jason Day Free of Weaknesses That Will Keep Competition Chasing Him for Years

It wasn’t long after Tiger Woods arrived at his first PGA Tour event that he began leaving both fans and competitors awestruck by his incredible power.

Spectators could often be seen climbing trees just to get a brief glimpse of one of Woods’ mammoth tee shots, while competitors were likely wishing they could somehow hide behind those same trees in order to escape the embarrassment of watching Woods’ ball fly 50 yards past theirs.

One of the most iconic venues in the game—Augusta National—was essentially forced to redesign its entire course after Woods decimated the joint back in 1997.

And many other courses around the PGA Tour, and the world for that matter, began adding significant yardage in an undertaking that would later become known as “Tiger Proofing.”

Woods’ natural power was something that had rarely, if ever, been seen before in the game of golf. So it was no surprise that the majority of attention surrounding Woods was focused on his power game.

However, distance can only carry a player so far (no pun intended) and what often gets lost in Woods’ early success is just how skillful he was in every other aspect of the game.

Woods’ iron shots were nothing short of majestic, he could get the ball up-and-down from anywhere, and he made more big putts than anyone had seen since Jack Nicklaus.

Throughout the history of the game, there have been many players who have gone on dominant runs stretching anywhere from several months to several years, but it was this complete game that allowed Woods to remain consistently dominant for more than 12 years.

There are a handful of talented young players out on tour today who possess aspects of their game that can be comparable to Woods in his prime.

For example, Jordan Spieth’s short game and ability to make big putts when he needs them most are reminiscent of Woods’ skills on and around the greens.

Rory McIlroy’s incredibly high iron shots and ability to shift his long game into a different gear when he needs to is comparable to Woods’ power game, and perhaps in some ways even more impressive due to McIlroy’s slight stature.

But there is only one player in professional golf today who appears to have mastered virtually every single aspect of the game, and that is Jason Day.

Day is one of the longest hitters on tour, averaging just over 300 yards off the tee.

Three weeks ago, jaws could be seen hitting the turf at TPC Sawgrass as Day sent 2-irons flying over 300 yards off the tee followed by sky-high approach shots en route to his first Players Championship title.

But Day’s ability is by no means limited to the power game.

The 28-year-old native of Australia is second on the PGA Tour in strokes gained from putting, 12th in strokes gained from tee to green, eighth in sand save percentage, 10th in scrambling from inside of 30 yards and leads the PGA Tour in average distance of …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com