Jason Day has turned up at TPC Sawgrass in Florida for the Players championship, apparently past the back injury that forced him to withdraw at Bay Hill last week.
Day, the 2016 Players winner, to reporters he had recovered, despite saying last week that an MRI had revealed a tear in the L4 and L5 discs in his lower back.
He played just six holes on the first day of Arnold Palmer’s tournament at Bay Hill.
“I feel great,” he said today. “My back feels a lot better.”
Tiger Woods also was at Sawgrass on Monday preparing for the Players despite his withdrawal from Bay Hill with a neck issue. Woods also said that he was fit to play.
“I didn’t want to push it. No need to,” Woods said of his decision last week. “Not at my age. Can’t do that anymore.”
Day is one of five Australians in the field this week, the others being Adam Scott, Aaron Baddeley, Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman. Baddeley has played himself into the field through strong form in the early part of 2019 despite starting out the year with only restricted playing rights.
The Players is worth $US 12.5 million in prizemoney and has previously been won by a few Australians – Greg Norman, Scott, Day and Steve Elkington (twice).