Tiger ‘best he’s ever felt in three years’ – Day

BRADENTON, Fla. - PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan met with the media at the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession on Wednesday morning in the wake of Tiger Woods' single-car accident in Los Angeles. RELATED: Woods ‘awake, responsive’ after surgery | TOUR pros, athletes, celebrities send best wishes Woods suffered compound fractures to his lower extremities and remains hospitalized in L.A. He was already sidelined as he worked to recover from a fifth back surgery and had missed starts at the Farmers Insurance Open and last week's Genesis Invitational, where he serves as the tournament host. He had remained in Los Angeles to fulfill sponsor and media obligations. "I was in my office on a Microsoft Teams call," Monahan said, when asked how he learned about the accident mid-day Tuesday. "I answered my phone and I guess my reaction was shock, I was shocked. I kind of had to sit down and ask the same question I had asked a second time because I wasn’t sure I completely heard what I was being told." Monahan said he had not spoken to Woods and admitted he didn't sleep much Tuesday night. The two have known each other since before Monahan joined the TOUR and even before he was tournament director of the Dell Technologies Championship in Boston. Prior to that, he worked for EMC, which sponsored the World Cup when Woods and David Duval represented the U.S. "So, the way I look at it is it's never about me," Monahan said. "I was like a lot of people out here. Timing is everything in life, and I wanted to pursue a career in sports. I went to graduate school in 1996, got out in ’97 and started my career and ended up working, finding a way to work at a company that did a lot in golf. Once I saw the environment of the PGA TOUR and once I saw Tiger and all the great players in action, it led me to want to pursue a career here." Tuesday's news came at a particularly busy time as the golf world anticipates the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession. Then comes next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, followed by THE PLAYERS Championship in two weeks. The accident briefly put all of that on hold. "No, absolutely not," Monahan said, when asked if he could still multi-task after receiving such terrible news. "I was up all night last night and I couldn’t - I couldn’t really focus on anything else." He said he's been in touch with Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent, and stressed that for now the well-being of Woods the person will take precedence over the viability of Woods the golfer. "Well, I think that the only thing that really matters now is his well-being," Monahan said. "His recovery, his family, the level of support that we provide to him. "Listen, when Tiger wants to talk about golf, we’ll talk about golf," he continued, "but I think right now the entirety of our efforts needs to be around the support. When you’re going to overcome what he needs to overcome, I think the love of all of our players and everybody out here, it’s going to come forward in a big way and across the entire sporting world. I think he’ll feel that energy and I think that’s what we should all focus on."

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – It’s been roughly a year since Jason Day first discussed the balloon therapy that helps keep his rib cage in place, strengthens his core and loosens his back. That means a year of 30-minute sessions blowing into balloons at the gym while others are pumping iron. “Mind you, you feel self-conscious because you’re in the gym blowing up balloons and no one else is blowing up balloons,â€� Day said. On the flip side, he’s become pretty adept at it. “Got really good at farm animals and … swords and stuff like that,â€� he said. “If you need a kids’ party, I can do it for you.â€� Related: Leaderboard | Pro-am leaderboard | TOUR Insider: Five wins and Phil’s lucky silver dollar Yes, he knows exactly how that comes across. But at this point, the 32-year-old Australian is trying anything he can to stay healthy and avoid the kind of back problems that have nagged at his career. The latest example came late in 2019 when he aggravated his back during a practice session and was forced to miss the Presidents Cup in his native land. Of course, when he’s healthy, the 12-time PGA TOUR winner is one of golf’s best players. He showed that again Friday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am when he shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 at Pebble Beach – tying Chris Baker’s 64, also at Pebble Beach, for low round of the day – to move into solo second at 12 under, two shots behind leader Nick Taylor at the halfway point. Both Day and Taylor will be at Spyglass Hill on Saturday in the final day of the three-course rotation. It’s no surprise that Day is playing well in this event. He has six top-10 finishes in 10 career starts, including top-5s in the previous three years. “I would like to change having the top-5s,â€� Day said. “I would like to win.â€� It’s getting close to two years since Day’s last TOUR win at the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship. He was ranked seventh in the world after that win, but a tough 2019 campaign dropped him to 46th entering this week. The pain in his back became so bad – and the stress to deliver on those high expectations became so intense – that he wondered if he should continue playing. Frustrating and losing confidence, he told his wife at one point, “I think I’m nearly done here.â€� But those dark moments subsided. He persevered, hoping his health and his game would improve. Even if he’s not all the way back to where he once was – he ended 2016 as the game’s top-ranked player — he feels better about things. One area that seems to be coming around is his putting. He’s doing less of it during practice rounds – instead of 200 putts that might take more than two hours, he’s about at half that amount – and that’s allowed him to focus more on it. “Hoping that kind of lowering the reps and upping the concentration … will kind of even itself out,â€� he said. Oh, and yes, the balloon therapy helps, too. It was developed by the Postural Restoration Institute more than a decade ago. Day’s trainer Kevin Duffy introduced his client to it. After his round Friday, Day explained how it works. “If I stood with my shirt off, my rib cage always faces right,â€� he said. “So I’m trying — through balloons, blowing into them; I could do it without it – and I’m trying to hold a certain position and get my rib cage back into position. “But through blowing up a balloon, it actually pressurizes everything for you because if you don’t hold that breath and exhale out, it honestly feels like you’re suffocating. That’s the feeling that I’m trying to get.â€� He wants to make sure his thoracic is mobile and that he’s not turning from his lower back. “That’s really kind of why a lot of golfers have back problems because they get too tight in the thoracic and then they get tight hips and then they get their rotation through their lower back,â€� he said. So now, of course, you’re going to picture him blowing into balloons. Smile if you will. But also take another look at the second-round leaderboard. Jason Day is producing more than farm animals this week.

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The PGA TOUR uses a standardized system for determining event fields, based off the current season’s Priority Ranking while also including additional exemption and qualifying categories. Field sizes can vary by event, as can the number of event-specific exemptions. Fully exempt PGA TOUR members are guaranteed entry into all full-field events, with various conditional categories subject to periodic reshuffles based upon FedExCup Points accrued throughout the season. Categories with ‘reshuffle’ notation indicate that a reshuffle period has occurred. Scroll below for the AT&T Byron Nelson field list as of Friday, May 6th at 5 p.m. ET: Check here for updates. Winner – PGA/U.S. Open Championship (five-year exemption) Dustin Johnson Brooks Koepka Justin Thomas Winner of THE PLAYERS Championship (five-year exemption) Jason Day Si Woo Kim Winner of Masters Tournament (five-year exemption) Hideki Matsuyama Scottie Scheffler Danny Willett Winner of The Open (five-year exemption) Francesco Molinari Jordan Spieth Henrik Stenson Winner of World Golf Championships event (three-year exemption) Kevin Kisner Xander Schauffele Bubba Watson Winner of Arnold Palmer Invitational, Memorial Tournament and Genesis Invitational (three-year exemption) Joaquin Niemann Adam Scott PGA TOUR tournament winner (two-year exemption) Ryan Brehm Sam Burns Cameron Champ Tyler Duncan Dylan Frittelli Talor Gooch Branden Grace Lanto Griffin Jim Herman Tom Hoge Charles Howell III Sung Kang Patton Kizzire Jason Kokrak Matt Kuchar Martin Laird Nate Lashley K.H. Lee Marc Leishman Luke List Keith Mitchell Sebastián Muñoz Carlos Ortiz Ryan Palmer C.T. Pan Seamus Power Chez Reavie J.J. Spaun Sepp Straka Robert Streb Hudson Swafford Nick Taylor Michael Thompson Brendon Todd Martin Trainer Kevin Tway Erik van Rooyen Richy Werenski Matthew Wolff Career money exemption Luke Donald Bill Haas Rory Sabbatini Nick Watney Sponsor’s exemption (members not otherwise exempt) Jason Dufner Justin Leonard Sponsor’s exemption (unrestricted) Rasmus Hojgaard Joohyung Kim John Murphy PGA Section Champion\Player of the Year J.J. Killeen Past Champion of Respective Event Aaron Wise Winner of the 2021 Byron Nelson Collegiate Golf Award McClure Meissner Top 125 on prior season’s FedExCup Charley Hoffman Alex Noren Lee Westwood Charl Schwartzel Maverick McNealy Emiliano Grillo Jhonattan Vegas Harry Higgs Mackenzie Hughes Ian Poulter Pat Perez Andrew Putnam Doug Ghim Brandon Hagy Peter Malnati Wyndham Clark Adam Schenk Kramer Hickok Brian Stuard Henrik Norlander Doc Redman Roger Sloan Brandt Snedeker Hank Lebioda Adam Hadwin James Hahn Matt Wallace Sam Ryder Matthew NeSmith Scott Piercy Brice Garnett Scott Stallings Chesson Hadley Top 125 on prior season’s FedExCup (non-member) Will Zalatoris # Major medical extension Danny Lee Morgan Hoffmann Seung-Yul Noh Jonas Blixt Korn Ferry Tour Points winners (The 25 and The Finals 25) Stephan Jaeger Joseph Bramlett Three-Victory Promotion via Korn Ferry Tour Mito Pereira Korn Ferry Tour graduates via The 25 and The Finals 25 (reshuffled) Davis Riley Sahith Theegala Hayden Buckley Lee Hodges Matthias Schwab Patrick Rodgers Aaron Rai Christiaan Bezuidenhout Taylor Moore Max McGreevy Vince Whaley Adam Svensson Kurt Kitayama David Lipsky Greyson Sigg John Huh Trey Mullinax Brandon Wu Austin Smotherman Andrew Novak Curtis Thompson Paul Barjon Seth Reeves Justin Lower Dylan Wu Ben Kohles Austin Cook Callum Tarren Nick Hardy Scott Gutschewski Jared Wolfe Kelly Kraft Peter Uihlein David Skinns Michael Gligic Kiradech Aphibarnrat Dawie van der Walt Brett Drewitt Joshua Creel Nos. 126-150 on prior season’s FedExCup Points List (reshuffled) Beau Hossler Tommy Fleetwood The PGA TOUR uses a standardized system for determining event fields, based off the current season’s Priority Ranking while also including additional exemption and qualifying categories. Field sizes can vary by event, as can the number of event-specific exemptions. Fully exempt PGA TOUR members are guaranteed entry into all full-field events, with various conditional categories subject to periodic reshuffles based upon FedExCup Points accrued throughout the season. Categories with ‘reshuffle’ notation indicate that a reshuffle period has occurred. * = If all prior year Korn Ferry Tour graduates are eligible for event, exemptions become unrestricted # = Latest medical extension information can be found here. $ = Category breakdown can be found here.

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