Jason Day returns to the Presidents Cup team for first time since 2017 out to make up for past poor showings

Jason Day has conceded he didn’t “give the energy” the Presidents Cup demanded when he played as world No.1 in 2015 and has vowed to bring his best on his long-awaited return to the International Team for next week’s showdown with the USA.

It’s the first time since 2017 that Day will play the biennial competition, missing the 2019 clash at Royal Melbourne because of a back injury and then again in 2022 as that issue combined with others to limit his output and his ranking plummeted to outside the top 150.

Day, 36, returns to the competition having broken back into the world’s top 20 in 2024 after securing his 13th PGA Tour win in 2023 and finishing in the top 10 at the Paris Olympics, competing under the Australian flag.

He said he brought a wealth of experience to a team looking for a first win over the USA since 1998 and was driven to give better then he did when he was the best player in the world.

“We were close in Korea in 2015. I think it came down to the last match,” Day said ahead of next week’s event at Royal Montreal Golf Club.

“I felt disappointed in my game because I was No.1 in the world at that time and I just didn’t quite give the energy that I wanted to in that Presidents Cup. I didn’t play well.

“And there were a couple of matches early in the week that it came down to 18 and we lost on 18. And I didn’t play great against Dustin Johnson in the singles.

“Looking back on it, I wish I could have given a little bit more, being one of the better players on that team at the time.”

Day said the journey he’d gone on to get back to the top had motivated him to get as much as possible out his reborn career.

That’s why he chose to represent Australia in Paris, having baulked at the Olympics the last time he was picked in 2016. He will also return to Australia for the first time since 2017 to play the PGA and plans to give his utmost for the Presidents Cup and his team that includes compatriots Adam Scott and rookie Min Woo Lee.

“Getting back to the position I am today, it was obviously a lot of hard work and dedication that everyone puts in every single week. I kind of dived deep into it because it was more about a lifestyle and kind of similar to when I was trying to become No.1 one in the world,” he said.

“I’ve had to work my way out of the position I was in with the injuries and then the loss of confidence in my game. That was difficult and it was a hard five years. I feel like I had a lot more to give in my game.

“I’m glad I went through that journey because careers aren’t always up and it’s kind of jagged roads and that will lead to ultimately where you want to try to achieve.

“I know we are going to have a pretty experienced team and it’s something that we’ve struggled to win in the past. Looking at this team, we’ve got guys who can go out there and compete, play well and win matches when they need to.”

The Presidents Cup gets under way on September 26.