ROCHESTER, N.Y. — When Jason Day steps to the 10th tee at 9:06 Thursday morning to begin his opening round of the PGA Championship, it will be his first look at Oak Hill.
In a highly unusual practice, the 35-year-old Aussie, a former No. 1 ranked player in the world and the 2015 PGA Championship winner, opted not to play a single practice round in advance of the tournament — even though he’s never even seen Oak Hill before.
Day ended a five-year winless drought Sunday with a playoff win at the Byron Nelson in Texas.
Winning can be a mentally taxing exercise because of all the pressure that comes with being around the lead all week.
Add to that the back injuries Day has been battling for years as well as the vertigo he’s been plagued by, and resting before Thursday’s opening round felt like the best approach for him.
“I’ve just got to be cautious, understand that I’ve come off a good week from last week, and with a win comes some expectations,’’ Day said Wednesday. “But, also, I’ve got to not get too far ahead of myself and make sure that I listen to myself and listen to my body.
“I haven’t played the course. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the course. I’m just not fighting anything [injury-wise]; I just want to make sure that I’m mentally prepared and mentally ready for [Thursday]. No matter how well I prepare, even if I go out and play a practice round, if I come in [Thursday] tired and exhausted, it won’t do me any favors, so I’m just going to try and take it easy.”
Day will rely on his good form coming in, form that allowed him to come from behind to win the Byron Nelson one week after missing the cut at the Wells Fargo in Charlotte.
“It’s amazing how quickly confidence in this game can change,’’ Day said.
It’s been a long road back for Day, one that has seen him settle on a coach, Chris Como, who’s changed his swing so it takes the pressure off his back. Como once worked with Tiger Woods when Woods realized his swing was too physically taxing on his ailing back.
“For Jason, it takes a lot of humility for someone who’s been that great to go ahead and say, ‘It doesn’t matter what goes on from here, I’m going to rebuild this thing the way I want to rebuild it,’ ’’ Trevor Immelman, the lead golf analyst for CBS told The Post. “It takes so much patience and great work ethic to get to this point. That win has been coming for a while.
“He’s a former world No. 1, a major champion, a Players champion. The guy has really done everything there is to do in the game, and if he just starts to get that self-belief firing again, which is what I’ve seen the last six months, he absolutely can win a few more big ones.’’
Day, who burns to get back to mountaintop and believes he can get there again, conceded Wednesday that, not long ago, it didn’t look good and he was staring at the scary reality that his time might have been up.
“At one point I was sitting there [and] I didn’t know if this was kind of the end for me just because of where my body was and how I was feeling,’’ Day said. “I was not only struggling mentally, but I was also struggling physically, and there was a lot of doubt in my mind to think that I would ever come back and be able to win again.’’
That’s why Day called Sunday’s win “quite pleasing to know that I can still compete and play and win out here on the Tour.’’
Immelman, a former Masters winner who transitioned into the TV booth, understands Day’s battle.
“It’s very, very difficult because there are times when you’re sitting at home and you feel totally exposed and vulnerable and you wonder if you’re ever going to be able to get back to that level again,’’ Immelman said. “At that moment, you’re approaching a fork in the road and you’re going to have to make a decision. You’re either going to have to accept what you were able to do and enjoy the heights that you reached, or you’re going to make another turn and completely rededicate yourself and be open and honest with the things that need to change in order to give yourself a shot to get back there.
“That’s a much more difficult road to take and he went for that.’’