Over the last few years, Jason Day has taken to picking the brain of Tiger Woods over everything from course management to practice regiments. However, on Tuesday at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, Day said that the days of Woods offering advice have come to an end.
The duos bromance budded during Woods’ multi-year recovery from numerous physical limitations caused by nerve issues in his back. Now that Woods has recovered fully and is back competing on the PGA Tour and in the biggest events in the sport, Day told Golfweek.com that the advice and coaching Woods had previously provided has stopped coming.
Tiger Woods is treating his golf friends differently now: Tiger Woods isn’t dishing out advice like he used to — he’s keeping it all for himself. Jason Day said the 14-time major winner has cut back on tips since he has re-entered the fray, according to… https://t.co/x8ld2z3CQc pic.twitter.com/CpDCsCo8ZF
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSportsUS) August 2, 2018
“Now since we’re playing against each other, we don’t really talk to each other about (golf),” Day said. “It’s more support than anything now, like ‘Good playing,’ or if I’m pissed off he’ll text me. And he knows when I’m pissed off. If I play bad he’ll text me and give me a little pick me up, which is nice. But it’s nothing like the old, ‘this is what you need to do,’ the advice when it comes to playing golf.”
Woods previously embodied a mentor-like role for Day, who explained Woods would give him some tough love and then move on to how to respond to what went wrong. At the 2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Day blew a lead down the stretch to Dustin Johnson, playing the last four holes 4-over par. Shortly thereafter, a text from Woods came through.
“Have you got all your anger out yet?” Woods asked.
“I’m like no, not yet, cause I just literally lost this tournament,” Day said, relaying the story to Golfweek.com’s Dan Kilbridge. “He’d be like, ‘Forget about it. Let’s talk about what you did on the golf course and what the mistakes were and how do we make sure we don’t make those mistakes anymore?’”
With Woods back competing, the texts are fewer and further between, but when they do come, they are devoid of instruction.
While their relationship remains friendly, Woods is now seeing Day as an opponent standing between himself and his 80th PGA Tour title. Tiger will have a front-row seat to his protégé as the pair will play the first two rounds of the 2018 edition of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational together beginning on Thursday at 10:20 a.m.
