Jason Day returns to RBC Heritage as world’s top player

Jason Day owns the top spot in golf. Now he wants a cushion.

Day returns to Harbour Town Golf Links for the first time in three years and is the first top-ranked player in the RBC Heritage field since Luke Donald in 2012. He ascended to the top with consecutive victories in March, and remains confident despite a lukewarm finish at the Masters.

Now he wants some distance between himself and Jordan Spieth in the World Golf Ranking. Day is back at Harbour Town for the first time since 2013 for what is a home game for caddie, coach and Bluffton resident Colin Swatton. Spieth is not in this week’s field. Day’s first round begins on hole No. 1 at 12:50 p.m.

“If you want to become a dominant player, you have to be consistent, but you also have to consistently win,” said Day, who won five times in 2015. “And (I’ve shown) that over the last year and early on this year, as well, but I want to make sure I keep that level of play up.”

That means paying attention to his body.

During his rise, Day has sought the advice of longtime No. 1 Tiger Woods, who has encouraged Day to be himself and remain focused. Like Woods, Day has battled his share of health issues.

At the World Golf Championship Match Play in March, Day withstood a back injury during the middle of the week to win, losing more than 10 pounds he attributed to stress. He has battled back issues in the past and bouts of vertigo, including scary moment when he collapsed during the U.S. Open last year.

Day now gets his back and other muscles tuned up each day. He has focused on nutrition and training methods in an effort to prepare his body for a long career.

“It’s a daily routine now,” Day said. “It’s part of my life and I have to keep it that way, because if I don’t, then you’ll see me have a lot more withdrawals because of that.”

Day earned a major breakthrough with his victory at the PGA Championship last year at Whistling Straits. The win was one of five in 2015, and he added victories at the WGC Match Play and Arnold Palmer Invitational last month.

At the Masters, Day contended before fading with a final-round 73. He said the finish was more frustrating because of how Spieth came back to the field with a late collapse.

Day told reporters in Augusta last week about a time he almost quit golf, sitting on his bus with his agent, wife and sports psychologist and bemoaning a game he no longer found fun.

Then he finished tied for second at the Masters in 2011 and rediscovered the joy. Instead of shedding those in his inner circle and starting fresh, Day said he pulled them closer.

“It’s emotional highs and lows in the game of golf,” Day said at the Masters. “And times when you're going through very, very rough times and you're hating the game, usually it's because you're not working hard enough; and it was.”

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Jason Day returns to RBC Heritage as world’s top player."