As Jason Day can attest, the late, lamented Eisenhower Tree at Augusta National may no longer be able to cause Masters golfers great angst, but that doesn’t mean its relatives are not going down without a fight.
Jason Day blames re-injured thumb on ‘Mickelson’s Tree’ root at Augusta
Jason Day’s thumb goes from ‘fine’ to worse after his tilt with a tree root Saturday at the Masters.
Harry How
With a strong performance at the recently completed Masters, Day had an outside chance of overtaking Tiger Woods as the No. 1 golfer in the world. Instead, the now fifth-ranked player, who slipped from fourth place after a T20 finish at Augusta, re-injured his bum left thumb on Saturday when his club smacked roots growing out of a tree that gained its own kind of fame in 2010.
That’s when Phil Mickelson made what Nick Faldo dubbed “the greatest shot of his life” -- a 207-yard, 6-iron scorcher that landed three feet from the pin to set up a birdie and Lefty’s second Masters victory -- from behind the tall pine lodged at the dogleg of the par-5 13th.
“Jason jarred his thumb hitting a buried tree root at Phil’s tree on Saturday and that’s why he’s not playing this week,” Col Swatton, Day’s coach and caddie, told Bernie McGuire about the reason for the golfer’s withdrawal from this week’s RBC Heritage event.
Day, whose sore thumb forced him to sit out for six weeks before starting the Masters, may join Woods on in the MASH unit for the Players Championship in two weeks as well as June’s U.S. Open.
“I know he’s disappointed but there’s not much Jason can do about it,” said Swatton. “He’s again getting further treatment on the thumb and it’s been placed in a cast but really the only cure is rest.”
Day’s injury caused him to withdraw from last month’s WGC-Cadillac Championship, but he entered Masters week on the strength of two wins in the 2013-2014 season --the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf in November, and February’s match play in February -- as well as a share of second place at Torrey Pines January. Though he played last week with tape wrapped around his left wrist, Day contended it was just for support.
“There’s no issues with it and it’s just the tape’s coming off,” Day told reporters after Friday’s second round. “That’s why sometimes you see me rubbing it, just trying to get the tape back on. But it’s fine.”
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