Jason Day has revealed the reason behind his fourth-round Masters meltdown that saw him plummet down the leaderboard.
The Aussie started the final round at Augusta within touch of the leaders at 3-under, but carded an 8-over 80 to finish in a tie for 39th.
But in the lead-up to this weekend’s Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina – the site of his most recent PGA Tour victory in 2018 – Day confirmed a recurrence of the same ailment he’s been fighting for nearly a decade.
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“Last round of the Masters I had vertigo, so that was obviously not fun to play in that final round,” he said.
“We had to finish our third round Sunday morning (US time) and then I was sitting in the caddie hut and that’s when I got vertigo.”
Day has suffered symptoms off and on since the 2015 US Open in Chambers Bay. He said he also suffered spells at the World Matchplay in Austin in March, where he blew an early lead over Scottie Scheffler to go down 2-and-1.
He said that day against Scheffler was “only a small bout”.
“But it really kicked my butt at Augusta – that was kind of the time where I had to take a step back.
“It’s a virus that attacks my inner ear, which is the vestibular nerve in the ear, so when that happens you can’t get rid of a virus obviously, the only way you can do it is suppress it.
“I just needed to take some time off, that was pretty much plain and simple. And then obviously on top of it just rework how I come to the golf course and work as well.”
Day was supposed to play the RBC Heritage the week after the Masters, but pulled out to give himself a break.
The Wells Fargo is one of the PGA’s 14 elevated events, boasting a purse of about $30 million.
This season, Day has enjoyed a return to form of sorts – he’s had six top-10s and 11 top-25s from his 14 starts. Day has also surged back up the world rankings, and now sits at 34 from a low well outside the top-150.
He said his Masters final round was “a little bit of a hiccup”, and he’s ready to win again at a course he loves.
Day’s Wells Fargo campaign gets underway Thursday night AEST.
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