Many elite days ahead for Jason Day

Had Jason Day realised his major ambitions back in 2011, the effects may not have been favourable.

The Australian was 23 when he finished second at both the Masters and US Open and though he had already made his mark on the PGA Tour with a victory at the Byron Nelson Championship he would, by his own admission, have been ill-prepared to make the leap to an elite club of major champions.

Another four years on the road can change all that, though, particularly given Day’s consistent ability and mental strength to overcome the challenges life and golf have thrown at him. His health concerns included a bout of swine flu, bronchitis, allergy issues and an ankle injury while his most recent problems have been the most worrying of all as bouts of vertigo have dramatically intervened, most prominently two months ago when dizzy spells at the vertiginous ninth hole at Chambers Bay during the second round of the US Open were so disorienting that the Queenslander collapsed on the fairway.