Rankings: Jason Day Drops From World Top 10

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Jason Day

The new world rankings were released on Monday, and for the first time in over four seasons, Jason Day is no longer ranked in the top 10.

The former world No. 1 was officially bumped out of the top tier following this past weekend’s WGC-HSBC Champions, and as of today, he is ranked exactly where he finished in China, No. 11.

Day’s fall in the world rankings is something that no one would have predicted just a year ago.

It was only 17 months ago that the then 28-year old superstar had won THE PLAYERS Championship – his third win of the early 2016 season – and was fresh off a five-win season in 2015, including the PGA Championship.

DAY’S HOT STRETCH

During this torrid stretch, Day won seven times in just 17 starts. Additionally he finished with a top 5, three top 10s, and landed outside the top 25 only once (a MC at the Farmers, which he had won earlier in 2015).

W – JUL 2015 – RBC Canadian Open
12 – AUG 2015 – WGC-Bridgestone
W – AUG 2015 – PGA Championship
W – AUG 2015 – The Barclays
12 – SEP 2015 – Deutsche Bank Champ.
W – SEP 2015 – BMW Championship
10 – SEP 2015 – TOUR Championship
10 – JAN 2016 – Tournament of Champions
MC – FEB 2016 – Farmers Insurance Open
23 – MAR 2016 – WGC-Cadillac Champ.
W – MAR 2016 – Arnold Palmer Invit.
W – MAR 2016 – WGC-Dell Match Play
10 – APR 2016 – Masters Tournament
23 – APR 2016 – RBC Heritage
5 – MAY 2016 – Zurich Classic
W – MAY 2016 – THE PLAYERS Champ.

With half the season remaining, including three majors and four FedExCup events, media predictions were running wild about Day’s “Tigeresque” record-setting potential. Another five win season was almost a given.

He was the undisputed best player on the planet.

But since that win at TPC Sawgrass in May 2016, Day has come up empty in 31 starts.

Despite going winless for the remainder of the ’16 season, the Aussie held on to the No. 1 spot, and continued to play elite-level golf, highlighted by a runner up to Jimmy Walker at the PGA.

A back injury forced a pair of WDs to close the playoffs, raising some early red flags.

As the calendar turned to 2017, Day still held on to the top spot. But following a T64 at Riviera, coupled with a win by Dustin Johnson, the man who started the year seeking to remain “No. 1 for a full calendar year” was dethroned less than two months in.

After that, Day’s season was pretty much all downhill, as he battled both personal and medical issues en route to his first winless season since 2012.

Date-Tournament-Finish-World Ranking After

FEB – AT&T Pebble Beach (T5) – No. 1
FEB – Genesis Open (T64) – No. 2
MAR – Arnold Palmer Invit (T23) – No. 3
MAY – PLAYERS Champ. (T60) – No. 4
JUN – Travelers Champ. (MC) – No. 5
JUL – British Open (T27) – No. 6
AUG – WGC-Bridgestone (T24) – No. 7
AUG – PGA Champ. (T9) – No. 9
OCT – WGC-HSBC Champ. (T11) – No. 11


DAY’S COMEBACK?

The good news is that the 10-time PGA Tour winner seems close to getting back into top form. He was solid in the playoffs (T6, T25, 4, T17) and has started the new season with a pair of T11s in Asia.

LAST SIX STARTS

The Northern Trust – T6
Dell Technologies Championship – T25
BMW Championship – 4
TOUR Championship – T17
The CJ CUP at Nine Bridges – T11
WGC-HSBC Bridgestone – T11


Credit: OWGR, PGA Tour, Getty Images


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