Jason Day Almost Matched Greg Norman’s PLAYERS Scoring Record

Greg Norman set THE PLAYERS scoring record in 1994 and Jason Day almost matched it this year.

Jason Day had a shot at making the history books this week. When Day got to 15-under par after two rounds at TPC Sawgrass, it looked for a time like he might break the biggest record at the THE PLAYERS, the scoring record owned by Greg Norman, who won at 24-under par in 1994. That’s 22 years ago.

Norman was at the height of his prowess in those days. There’s wasn’t a course he couldn’t demolish with his length and accuracy off the tee. He was one of the best drivers ever, according to many who played against him, including Nick Price.

Norman was, in the nomenclature of Donald Trump, really huge. He had already won the British Open in 1986 and 1993 and would eventually spend 331 weeks at the No. 1 ranking, trading with Seve Ballesteros, Ernie Els, Nick Faldo, Nick Price, and Fred Couples. Norman was one of the most popular and charismatic players in golf at that time.

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In an era of persimmon and balata, when 280 to 290 yards led the PGA Tour in driving, Norman was always in the top ten, if not the top five. What was amazing was that he was also in the 70s in percentage of fairways hit.

In the spring of 1994, Greg Norman, like Jason Day, opened with a course record 63.

Norman led by two strokes after the first round, by three after two rounds, by four shots after three days. He followed the 63 with a trio of 67s and finished the week at 24-under par, winning by four shots over Fuzzy Zoeller.

During the week Norman hit 49 of 56 fairways, an astonishing 87 percent. He went 66 straight holes without a bogey. His no-bogey streak was finally broken at the 13^th hole in the final round.

Norman said later that he had wanted to go bogey-free, which was something he had never done over 72 holes. According to the PGA TOUR staff, Lee Trevino is the last person to do that. It was in 1974 in New Orleans, and he won the tournament.

Jason Day’s bogey-free streak ended at the 39^th hole in the third round when he missed a four-footer at the third hole. His chances to tie or break the Norman mark also faded when his round failed to produce the barrage of birdies so prevalent on days one and two. His 1-over round included two doubles.

In short, as well as Jason Day played in the first two rounds of The PLAYERS, he was not able to match Norman’s historically low total of 19-under through the third. With shots to make up in round four, the likelihood of Day posting a 62 or better at a difficult track are grass-blade slim.

To be fair to Jason Day, the greens on the golf course in 1994 were dampened by rain on Friday. Without the benefits of a Sub-Air system in that era, the greens were soft and receptive, and Norman’s irons were spot on. They stuck like Velcro to the putting surface.

Fuzzy Zoeller said at the time that the field was lucky to catch the course on days when there was little wind, also leading to low scores. He called it a “pussy-cat day.” Those weather conditions were similar to day one and day two at this year’s PLAYERS. Jason Day’s score of 15-under, as well as the scores of his nearest competitors at the start the third round, reflected it. Shane Lowry was at 11-under. Jonas Blixt, Cameron Tringale and Alex Cejka were all at 10-under.

Next: Jason Day: Ready to Face the Toughest PLAYERS Field

While Jason Day is still the favorite to win the tournament, his play in round three eliminated his shot at Norman’s record and let 15 golfers back into contention. Should Day stumble on Sunday, there are plenty of golfers who would embrace the opportunity for a career-enhancing victory, one that Day called a major championship at the beginning of the week.

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