Jason Day: 22 Things You Didn't Know About Former World No.1

Jason Day has more than made his mark in the world of golf, with the Australian reaching the World No.1 spot in September 2015 during a stunning stretch of play.

He won eight times from 2015-2016 including his maiden Major title at the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits and the 2016 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

How well do you know Jason Day? Get to know his life and career better with these facts:

Jason Day facts:

1. He was introduced to the game by his father who sadly passed away when Jason was just 12 years old.

2. His coach and former caddie, Colin Swatton, persuaded him to attend golf college in Australia, where Day read and was inspired by a Tiger Woods book and used Woods' achievements by age to measure his own progress.

3. He has a street named after him in his hometown of Beaudesert, Australia (south of Brisbane). They named it 'Jason Day Drive' after his 2015 season.

4. His 2015 season was the best of his career, reaching the World No.1 spot, winning his maiden Major at the PGA Championship and four other PGA Tour titles.

5. Also, in 2015, he won the Don Award by Sport Australia Hall of Fame and was the inaugural recipient of the Greg Norman Medal. He also won the Queensland Sports Star of the Year award and won the Greg Norman Medal again in 2016

6. His mother was diagnosed with lung cancer and given just 12 months to live in early 2017. She had the cancerous mass removed from her lung but, in March 2022, she sadly passed away.

7. His PGA Tour career earnings are around $60m.

8. He lives just outside of Columbus, Ohio.

9. He turned professional in 2006 after winning the Australian Amateur Stroke Play, Master of the Amateurs and Queensland Amateur

10. He married his now-wife Ellie Day in 2009. They have five children together.

11. His father was of Irish-Australian descent and his mother was of Filipino descent.

12. Eight of his Filipino relatives, including his grandmother, died in Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.

13. His birthday is on November 12th.

14. He has won 18 times as a pro including one Major, 13 PGA Tour victories and two WGCs.

15. He has spent 51 weeks atop the Official World Golf Ranking.

16. As well as 13 PGA Tour victories, he also has 11 runners-up finishes.

17. He has struggled with back injuries since his peak in 2015-2016, revealing in 2022 that he considered quitting golf.

18. He and Ellie started 'The Brighter Days Foundation' to help their local community. The charity "provides funding and resources to some of central Ohio’s most impactful organizations."

19. He signed with apparel brand Malbon Golf at the start of 2024 after previously being a Nike staffer. 

20. He won the Greg Norman Medal in 2015 and 2016, which is awarded to the best Australian golfer of the year.

21. He wears Payntr Golf shoes after acquiring an equity stake in the footwear brand.

22. Jason Day's caddie is Luke Reardon, who was his high school roommate.

Jason Day PGA Tour wins:

• 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship
• 2014 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
• 2015 Farmers Insurance Open
• 2015 RBC Canadian Open
• 2015 PGA Championship
• 2015 The Barclays
• 2015 BMW Championship
• 2016 Arnold Palmer Invitational
• 2016 WGC-Dell Match Play
• 2016 The Players Championship
• 2018 Farmers Insurance Open
• 2018 Wells Fargo Championship
• 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson

Jason Day sponsors

• Malbon Golf
• Bridgestone Golf
• DeWalt
• Payntr
• Motive

Jason Day career earnings

Jason Day has earnings of $60m on the PGA Tour throughout his career and has had endorsement deals with brands like TaylorMade, adidas and Nike during spells as a pro.

He was 69th in Forbes' Highest Paid Athletes list in 2016, earning $23.6m in that year alone, which took into account his on-course and off-course earnings.