Masters hopeful Jason Day opens up on Tom Brady retirement inspiration

Former world No.1 Jason Day has been inspired by Tom Brady ahead of his return to the Masters, as he starts to reclimb the golfing ranks. Day was named the best player in the world back in 2015, but following a series of injuries the 35-year-old dropped as low as 175th in the rankings.

Now, Day finds himself back to 35th, after recording five top-10 finishes in his last six PGA competitions. The Australian missed out on the Masters last year for the first time since 2010, but is determined to bounce back strong and do himself proud in Augusta.

And former NFL star Brady has been a big inspiration, and may see Day play beyond his planned retirement age. “To be back here this year is very special,” Day said, ahead of his Masters return.

“I didn’t watch much (last year) out of the sheer disappointment that I wasn’t able to compete. It hurt my confidence a lot, so I’ve been trying to work my way back.”

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Day felt “invincible” before being humbled by injury, but has seen his confidence restored since climbing the rankings again. “You feel invincible, like it’s never going to leave and you’re going to be on top of the world for a long time,” Day added. “All of a sudden you get injured and that mountain can be very jagged if you fall down it.”

And now that the Australian is back on track he doesn’t want to cut his golfing career short, something that has been inspired by the illustrious career of Brady. “For him to be at that young age of 45 and be competitive in the NFL, it’s remarkable, a true testament to his ability,” Day said about Brady.

“And then the mental ability he has. For the longest time I said I’ll get to 40 and think about retiring. I feel like I can play to 50 now, which is great, and would be nice to get another 15 years out of my career and see what this second half of my career could unfold.”

Brady won seven Super Bowl titles during his career, and managed to remain at the top of his game throughout – a rare achievement in the world of sport. It may not have gone that way for Day, but he’s enjoying the grind of soaring up the rankings for a second time.

“I’m more excited by the journey and trying to get back there,” Day said. “When I got to number one, I thought I would feel a little bit different and didn’t really change too much. It was sacrifice everything. It came from a very hard place. Forget about how your body feels, just kind of force it in there.

“This time around, I’m learning more about what I need to do to keep myself healthy… I’m enjoying the journey and I’m learning each and every day, and I’ve actually got a lot of love and passion for it.”

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