Is Jason Day a Sneaky Favorite to Win Golf's 2011 US Open?
A little over a year ago, Jason Day became the youngest Australian ever to win a PGA Tour event when he won the Byron Nelson Championship. A few weeks later, he made his major tournament debut at The Open Championship.
Since then, the 23-year-old Day has been on something of a roll. He went on to finish tied for 10th at the PGA Championship, and he finished tied for second at the Masters back in April. At 12-under, he set a Masters record for the lowest score by a first-time participant.
In four PGA Tour events since the Masters, Day has finished in the Top 10 three times. Most recently, he finished fifth at the Byron Nelson Championship.
"Hot" is a relative term when it comes to golf, but it's safe to say that Day is hot right now. And with the 2011 U.S. Open set to kick off from Congressional Country Club on Thursday, Day's hot streak is certainly coming at the right time.
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According to Bodog, Day is a 40-1 longshot to win the tournament. Because Day is playing his first U.S. Open, a notoriously difficult tournament, 40-1 odds might even be a little generous.
However, one thing we know for sure is that Day is not intimidated. As The Australian tells the story, the first word out of Day's mouth when he took in Congressional for the first time was "fun."
"That's the attitude I had at Augusta," said Day, referring to the Masters, "my first time there and I really wanted to enjoy the experience and when you're loose like that, well, I played pretty good."
That said, Day knows he has his work cut out for him. He plays a very aggressive (some would say reckless) style of golf, and he is well aware that it probably won't play well on a course as tough as Congressional.
"I'm 23, it's very hard for me to hold back, so it's going to be a good test to see if I'm mature enough to take my medicine rather than go for it," said Day. "Middle of the green, being happy with a 30-footer instead of going for the pin and trying to hit it 10 feet all day."
If Day wins, he will become just the third Australian to ever win the U.S. Open, joining Geoff Ogilvy (2006), and David Graham (1981).
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things US Open of Golf related, including TV Schedule Info and the latest Score and Leaderboard updates.
-Zachary D. Rymer
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