Jason Day: Hiring caddie Steve Williams looks like the perfect move

Jason Day has been looking for the missing piece to bring him back to the top of the golf world. He may have found it when he hired Steve Williams to caddie for him.

Jason Day has always been a highly competitive, driven player. It doesn’t feel like that long ago that he was the number one golfer in the world, a title he held for 51 weeks between September of 2015 and February of 2017. However, despite a relatively solid start to 2019, he’s recently fallen out of the top ten in the world.

Something needed to change, and not just anybody could do the job. Enter one of the most well-known (and well-respected) caddies in the history of the PGA Tour, Steve Williams.

You might remember Williams best as the man who replaced Mike “Fluff” Cowan as the caddie for Tiger Woods, with the pair dominating the golf world for the vast majority of Tiger’s pre-injury run. When the two had a serious falling out, Williams joined up with Adam Scott, who went on to the greatest successes of his career, including a win at the 2013 Masters.

Really, Williams’s star-studded resume spans almost four decades, but for most of his post-Tiger career, he’s basically been a part-timer. Jason Day has always placed a high level of trust in his caddie; it’s why he kept Colin Swatton on his bag for so long, only making a change when he felt there was no other option.

But how did this partnership come to be? After all, Williams was, by all accounts, enjoying the retired life and certainly never needed to carry a single club again. But a combination of factors put the Aussie star and the New Zealand caddie legend in a place where neither could say no.

Williams admitted that he, too, got caught up in Tiger’s run to the Masters title in April, breaking his “no-golf rule” to see his former employer don the green jacket once again. Then, ahead of the U.S. Open, the phone call from Day came, with a simple, compelling pitch.

"“I’ve underachieved, yeah. Severely underachieved, I think,” he said. “And granted, I have to work on a few things, mentally and physically, with regards to my golf game. But I think I’ve underachieved up until now.“I told Steve, Look, My goal is to get back to No. 1 in the world. But I want to do everything I possibly can to get there. If I need to do whatever you need to tell me, I’ll do it.”More from Pro Golf NowGolf Rumors: LIV set to sign Masters Champion in stunning dealFantasy Golf: Grant Thornton Invitational DFS Player SelectionsBrutal return leaves Will Zalatoris looking towards 2024Stars You Know at World Champions Cup Starts Thursday at ConcessionFantasy Golf: An Early Look at the 2024 Masters Tournament"

I mean, other than calling 16 worldwide wins and a major “underachieving”, you can’t argue with that mindset. Steve Williams has taken a lot of flak over the years for his almost overly-competitive nature, but that’s a trait he shares with a majority of the top players in the world.

Jason Day is no different, either. It can be easy to forget behind his easy-going, “no worries” exterior, but nobody gets to the heights he’s achieved without that killer instinct.

The results are already starting to pay off, just two tournaments into their partnership. At Pebble Beach, Day had a steady if unspectacular week, finishing tied for 21st at 2-under-par. This week, halfway through the Travelers Championship, Day is four off the lead after shooting a sizzling 63 on Friday, the best round of the tournament so far.

What changed? Day said that Williams wanted to head straight to the range after an uneventful round of even par on Thursday. He did so then, and the pair put in the extra work again on Friday, even with the day’s impressive results.

“Pretty much when he asks you to do something you pretty much do it,” Day said.

This could be a match made in heaven. A player in Jason Day who wants nothing more than to win majors and get back to No. 1 in the world. And a caddie in Steve Williams who would only come back to the loop if he believed he could get there, too.

Considering both of their backgrounds and obvious talents, I wouldn’t be the one to bet against this partnership going a long way for both of them.