Australian Open could help Jason Day to relight the fire

Jason Day has an old school friend on the bag as he looks to return to winning ways at the Australian Open.

A win at the Australian Open could prove the spark for Jason Day to return to his dominating best in the US.

Luke Reardon was working his way through Guatemala three years ago when he picked up the phone and dialled the number of Jason Day.

“I was travelling through Central America and I looked at the PGA schedule,” Reardon told The Weekend Australian yesterday.

“I know there was a tournament at Muirfield Village. I knew he (Day) lived there. I don’t think I had seen him for one or two years. I rang him and said I have booked a flight to come to America.

“I flew from Guatemala to Columbus to watch him play.

“When I left, I knew he didn’t want me to leave. I told him I would come back. Another friend of mine and I came back a year later to the Memorial (tournament).

“Same thing — he said you don’t have to go back.”

So Reardon didn’t.

He packed his belongings and moved to the American mid-west to be close to Day, reigniting a friendship that had taken shape when the pair were school friends at the Hills International College in Queensland more than a decade ago.

Yesterday, the pair were back at the college for a game of social golf, the bets flowing freely.

Next week, they will be in Sydney for the Australian Open at The Australian GC, Day as one of the tournament’s marquee attractions and Reardon as his caddie, having filled the breach following Day’s split with long-time bagman Col Swatton.

Reardon has stepped into some pretty big shoes.

Swatton was more than a caddie to Day. As well as being his coach and mentor, he was a surrogate father. Still, the early signs have been promising.

Reardon began carrying Day’s clubs at the BMW Championship in September.

They started with a bang.

Day fired a 64 in the opening round and there were shades of the player who rocketed to No 1 in the world.

“It hasn’t daunting at all,” Reardon said.

“I have full belief in what Jason can do. For me to go out there, I just tried to help him in any way and I trust he can kick everyone’s butt.

“We gelled really well. I think we both enjoyed it which is another big deal.

“It went well and that is how it all came about. We’re both really positive.

“I definitely stepped into some big shoes. It is really exciting — a long way to go and a lot of improvement to do.”

Day is coming off a year in which he has struggled on and off the course.

He was rocked by news that his mother Dening was battling with lung cancer, prompting him to withdraw from the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in March.

His form slipped and so did his world ranking — he will arrive in Sydney next week as the world No 12, having failed to win an event this season.

He made the gut-busting decision to part ways with Swatton, although he remains a friend and will continue to coach Day.

“It has been a different year for him with dealing with his mum’s health issues at the end of last year and the start of this year,” television analyst and 1991 Open Championship winner Ian Baker-Finch said.

“That was a trying time and he couldn’t really get any momentum. That was probably a precursor to his less than average play for a while.

“Then to put icing on the cake, Colin is missing in action. I think all of those things added up to a less than stellar year for him. I guess he is trying to figure that out.

“I don’t think he needs to go searching. I just think there has been a lot of things in his life that weren’t normal. Some years you have seasons like that or periods like that.

“I don’t think he has lost his game, I don’t think he has any issues there. I think he has all these bits of the puzzle that were all fitting perfectly.

“This year he lost a piece of two. He just has to figure that puzzle out again and he will be fine.

“You don’t just lose that enormous talent — it doesn’t just go away.”

Reardon shapes as a decisive piece of the puzzle given moves are afoot to ensure he can become a permanent fixture on Day’s bag.

His presence has the potential to reignite a career which has plenty of life left in it.

Day could yet do what American prodigy Jordan Spieth did three years ago — win the Australian Open and parlay that win into a barnstorming year on the US PGA Tour.

Reardon certainly hasn’t lost faith in his friend.

While his own aspirations to become a professional player waned after school, Day pursued his golfing career with vigour. The pair opted for different paths but they are once again united with the same goal — to get Day back to the top.

“I think everyone goes through distractions,” Reardon said. “Sometimes there is more distractions than other times. Obviously Jason has gone through those, especially this last year with his mum. I think he has handled it really well

“We’re both smart enough to know what is going on.

“We don’t go out there to laugh and carry on. There are times we might share a joke to ease up the tension if things get tight or we’re not playing great.

“Usually on the golf course, we’re focused on the job we have to do.

“There are a few goals we have got. I am trying not to picture too far ahead. I still have a visa I have to get approved.

“I am pretty confident it will. Then I can set out the year and set out beyond that. I have full confidence in him and myself. I respect that he has confidence in me as well.

“We’re really itching for next year and even this Aussie Open. To get back over to America next year is really exciting.”