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Winning is good but sometimes losing can be much better, particularly when a PGA Championship eventually comes.
Jason Day was able to shrug off the enormous pressure on him after this year’s British Open capitulation and a number of other major title losses to finally break through for victory.
We are all fascinated with winners in our society and now Day has joined the crew. Winning is inextricably linked with success, and success is a condition we all desire and aspire to possess. We are bound by the laws of sport, which transcend overarching societal values. Those laws dictate that victory is good and loss is bad.
Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to Jason Day. His determination in the face of his naysayers was breathtaking. Day’s British Open loss was a crushing one after having the ascendancy during the first three rounds. He is a great example of never giving up and understanding the mental attitude required to push through adversity.
Sports people often say they learn from losses, but it’s not so easy to assess as an external viewer. A sport such as tennis or golf with its numerous tournaments and sprinkling of majors enables us to really understand how a player can achieve such heights. The ranking of players as major winners and non-major winners is well established and won’t be going anywhere. However, I think we are missing something if we think that winning is everything.
Major victories enable us to draw a line in the sand about a player before and after their first victory. Some players never learn how to win the best tournaments. Tennis and golf are littered with quality players who never got to that society-imposed height.
Jason Day is certainly a wonderful example of a sportsperson who has learnt from his losses. Those losses taught the public much more about him as a player and a man than this major title ever will. The exposure he has received from that victory has shown his humility, however. The relief and joy he had all over his face is a far cry from the aggressive arrogance of other young sports stars these days.
Always the bridesmaid never the bride was a term with which Andy Murray became quite familiar. Murray was not considered a real member of tennis’ ‘Big Four’ until he finally won the US Open in 2012. Murray had suffered four major final defeats before breaking through to win. He was continuously challenged by the media about his inability to win a major even though he had won 23 tour level titles up to his maiden US Open. A very tough crowd indeed.
What’s even better about Day’s situation is how it shows the way a player’s family should act in the face of all their sporting eventualities. Day’s story is particularly tough given his father died when he was 12. His mother’s sacrifices were nothing compared to the happiness she had when first told of his victory.
Unlike many of our tennis players, Day was pushed when he needed to be and then was given space by his mother. The recognition that a sportsperson needs space to grow themselves is something many tennis parents could learn from.
Jason Day is now firmly on our minds for all the right reasons. The bad boys are entertaining every now and again but winning and respect are different things. You tend to get more of both if you act with humility as opposed to arrogance.