Jason Day bidding to challenge Jordan Spieth for Player of Year award

Newly-crowned PGA champion Jason Day sees the FedExCup play-offs as the opportunity for a challenge to world number one Jordan Spieth in the voting for the PGA Tour Player of the Year award.

Day is returning to competition at The Barclays this week at Plainfield Country Club after his breakthrough three-stroke success over Spieth at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

Day withdrew from yesterday’s Pro-Am due to a back issue, but should be able to tee off in today’s first round. The withdrawal was a precautionary move, the player’s trainer said in a statement.

“Jason tweaked his back moving an item under his motor coach last night,” said Cornel Driessen, Day’s physiotherapist and trainer. “This is a precautionary withdrawal for a long-standing disc issue.”

The 27-year old Australian plans to play all four FedExCup events and is hopeful, despite Spieth having captured two majors and two other PGA Tour titles this season, that winning the FedExCup could lift his own player of the year chances.

"The next four weeks starting this week here in New Jersey are very important and to be able to win the FedExCup would be the icing on my season," Day told Reuters.

"If I could snag the FedExCup trophy to go with my PGA Championship victory I could go very close to being named player of the year.

“I know it’s going to be tough to unseat Jordan because he’s played such amazing golf this year, but then if I were to capture the FedExCup, it puts my name in the mix for that award, and gives our peers voting on the award someone else’s name to think about.”

Spieth leads the FedExCup standings with Day in second, 1,710 points behind the young American, and the Australian said winning the PGA Championship’s Wanamaker Trophy for his maiden major only added to his motivation to win the play-off series and its $10 million bonus prize.

“If there is any extra inspiration I need to win the FedExCup then it’s been looking each day at the Wanamaker Trophy that’s sitting proudly upstairs back home in my office,” he said.

“Now having won one major, it would be nice to go on and win all four.”

Relaxing

Apart from hosting two corporate outings in Columbus, Ohio, the world number three has spent much of last week relaxing with his family, and only arrived at the Plainfield course on Tuesday, where he was congratulated by his fellow competitors, officials, caddies and spectators.

“The reception since I arrived here at Plainfield has been simply amazing,” he said.

“What I really want to do is regain that momentum I had in winning the PGA Championship, so I want to keep that going all through all four FedExCup events.