- Jason Day had his best finish at Augusta in six years
- Aussie has been left to rue a golden shot at victory
A ‘furious’ Jason Day has left the Masters with a fifth top-10 finish, lamenting what could have been.
But the former world No.1 admits there is encouragement to take from his first single-digit finish in six years after obliterating the field in one key statistic.
He started seven shots back from eventual victor Rory McIlroy, but so did Justin Rose who forced the Northern Irishman into a playoff after briefly holding the outright lead.
The world’s best player for 51 weeks a decade ago, Day has overcome illness and injury to demonstrate he’s no spent force at age 37.
In a helter-skelter Masters, won by McIlroy (11 under) in the playoff with Rose, Day (five under) was the steady hand but had to settle for a share of eighth place.
Reunited with his longtime swing coach Colin Swatton in January after a five-year break, the Australian came within one hole of rewriting 47 years of history when it took until the 36th hole for his first bogey.
Australia’s Jason Day had his best performance at The Masters in six years at the 2025 event
He also led the field when it came to least amount of bogeys as he completed a top 10 finish
He then only made two more until final two holes as he pushed to seven-under-par and within striking distance of the leaders.
But consecutive bogeys left him with a sour taste in his mouth on a dramatic Sunday at Augusta National, even though his bogey total of five was the least – by three – of any player in the tournament.
Day peppered the pins all weekend but missed as many putts, none hurting more than on the seventh on Sunday when his short birdie putt lipped out.
The Queenslander was trying to see the positives after being within touch of adding another major to his 2015 PGA Championship.
‘It’s just really hard when you’ve just walked off the golf course and you’re pretty furious with how you played, especially at the end,’ Day said.
‘I’m pretty gutted right now.
‘It’s annoying to give myself the opportunities out there and not be able to take them.’
Day was a year-ending top-10 player for three straight years between 2014-16, when he finished as No.1.
The Aussie will still walk away with regrets after having a golden chance to win the tournament
But he drifted into triple figures as recently as 2022 before a resurgence that has him back on the cusp of the world’s top 20.
‘I mean, it’s a step in the right direction. That’s all I can say. It’s hard to walk off the golf course and go straight into an interview even though I’m pretty headless right now,’ he said of his prospects of winning a second major title.
‘It’s nice to be like, third group from the end, at least trying to give myself a chance at winning the Masters.
‘Just didn’t play the back side very well. Obviously I need to get back to the drawing board on the back side.’
