It had been five years between Day’s 12th and 13th PGA TOUR career victories and the circumstances were a mix of planets aligning and the golf gods rewarding persistence.

As his caddie wore the name of Day’s late mother on his bib and the final round falling on Mother’s Day, Day held off a fast-finishing Si Woo Kim (63) with a round of 9-under 62 to fast-track his climb up the world rankings.

Twelve months on he is Australia’s No.1-ranked male player, looks set to become an Olympian for the first time at Paris in August and will return to the International team for the Presidents Cup for the first time since 2017.

After years of juggling family life and the struggles through persistent back injuries, Day said that it was a switch in mentality that provided the path forward.

“Playing from more of a position of like love and passion of the game is I think far healthier to play from than having a chip on your shoulder,” Day reflected.

“It’s easy to find motivation when you have a chip on your shoulder because people are talking against you and all that stuff.

“Certain players play well with that, but I feel like that’s a limited period of time where that can happen.”

No one, according to Day, reflects the power of that mindset better than world No.1 Scottie Scheffler.

The winner of four of his past five tournaments – including a second Masters title – Scheffler is not in the field this week as he and wife Meredith await the birth of their first child.

For Day, seeing the apparent ease in which Scheffler is dominating world golf is a reminder of the power of positive thinking.

“There are guys that play from a good position of balance and love,” Day added.

“Looking at Scottie Scheffler right now, he is playing some of the best golf we’ve seen in a long time, probably since the Tiger (Woods) days. He seems like a very well-balanced person.

“It’s very difficult to do. For me personally, I’m just trying to find that balance in amongst professional life and personal life, business and everything this comes along with being a professional golfer.”

There is always more to learn for @JDayGolf.

His victory last year @CJByronNelson was his first win in five years.

The 13-time TOUR winner has his eyes set on successfully defending his title in Texas. pic.twitter.com/7RZ4J5CuA2

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 1, 2024

And, as a father of five himself, what advice did Day offer Scheffler for the juggle he is about to begin?

“He’s going to have to adjust a little bit. It took me a year to really adjust to being a father,” Day conceded.

“I could not find my identity in being a father because of how selfish this game can be.

“Once I found that out and I could understand it a little bit more, that’s when I started becoming a better father.

“This is going to be a whole new world that’s going to open up.

“It’s going to be for the better.”

Day is one of five Aussies in the field at the Byron Nelson, a tournament Aussies have enjoyed success in dating all the way back to Peter Thomson in 1956, Thomson’s lone PGA TOUR victory in the US.

Northern Territory golfer George Worrall played his way into this week’s Volvo China Open on the DP World Tour via a two-round pre-qualifying tournament, the tournament making its return to the schedule for the first time since COVID-19.

There are 12 Aussies in Korea for the Asian Tour co-sanctioned GS Caltex Maekyung Open and the Cameron Smith-led Ripper GC team will be gunning for back-to-back team wins at LIV Golf Singapore.

There are five Aussies in the field for the Insperity Invitational on the PGA TOUR Champions and Scott Hend and Peter Fowler join Kiwis Michael Campbell and Michael Long for the first Legends Tour event of the season in Barbados.

Photo: Tim Heitman/Getty Images

Round 1 tee times AEST

PGA TOUR
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson
TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas
10:45pm*         Jason Day
10:56pm          Aaron Baddeley
3:55am            Adam Scott
4:06am            Min Woo Lee
4:39am            Ryan Fox (NZ)
4:39am*           Harrison Endycott

Defending champion: Jason Day
Past Aussie winners: Peter Thomson (1956), Bruce Devlin (1969), Adam Scott (2008), Steven Bowditch (2015), Jason Day (2023)
Prize money: $US9.5 million
TV times: Live 9:45pm-9am Thursday, Friday; Live 11pm-8am Saturday; Live 10:30pm-8am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.

DP World Tour
Volvo China Open
Hidden Grace GC, Shenzhen, China
10:20am*         Daniel Hillier (NZ)
1:40pm*          Kieran Muir (NZ)
2:30pm*          Jason Scrivener
3:40pm*          George Worrall

Defending champion: Mikko Korhonen (2019)
Past Aussie winners: Scott Strange (2009), Brett Rumford (2013)
Prize money: $US2.25 million
TV times: Live 3pm-8pm Thursday, Friday; Live 3:30pm-8pm Saturday; Live 2pm-7pm Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.

Asian Tour
GS Caltex Maekyung Open
Namseoul Country Club, Korea
7:41am            Brendan Jones
8:03am            Deyen Lawson
8:03am*           Kevin Yuan
8:36am            Jack Thompson
8:36am*           Won Joon Lee
8:58am            Justin Warren
9:09am*           Kevin Chun (NZ)
9:31am            Junseok Lee
1:03pm*          Jed Morgan
1:14pm            Travis Smyth
1:14pm*          Andrew Dodt
1:58pm            Zach Murray
2:31pm*          Todd Sinnott

Defending champion: Jung Chan-min
Past Aussie winners: Mike Clayton (1984)
Prize money: KRW1,300,000,000
TV times: Live 2pm-6pm Thursday, Friday; Live 1pm-4:30pm Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 1pm-5pm Sunday on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo.

LIV Golf
LIV Golf Singapore
Australasians in the field: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Lucas Herbert, Danny Lee (NZ)
Defending champion: Talor Gooch

Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US20 million
TV times: Live from 11:15am Friday, Saturday, Sunday on 7 Plus.

Japan Golf Tour
Chunichi Crowns
Nagoya Golf Club (Wago Cse), Aichi
8:30am            Anthony Quayle
12:30pm          Brad Kennedy
1:10pm*          Michael Hendry (NZ)

Defending champion: Hiroshi Iwata
Past Aussie winners: David Graham (1976), Graham Marsh (1977, 1981), Greg Norman (1989), Peter Senior (1993), Roger Mackay (1994), Brendan Jones (2011)
Prize money: ¥110,000,000

PGA TOUR Champions
Insperity Invitational
The Woodlands CC, The Woodlands, Texas
1:20am            Steven Alker (NZ)
1:52am*           Richard Green
2:23am            Mark Hensby, Rod Pampling
2:44am*           John Senden
2:55am*           Stuart Appleby

Defending champion: Steven Alker
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US2.7 million
TV times: Live 2:30am-5am Saturday; Live 5am-8am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.

Legends Tour
Barbados Legends hosted by Ian Woosnam
Apes Hill Barbados, Saint James
Australasians in the field: Michael Campbell (NZ), Michael Long (NZ), Scott Hend, Peter Fowler

Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil

Epson Tour
Casino Del Sol Golf Classic
Sewailo Golf Club, Tucson, Arizona
12:44am          Cassie Porter
1:50am            Su Oh
5:56am*           Fiona Xu (NZ)
6:40am*           Amelia Garvey (NZ)

Defending champion: Gigi Stoll
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US250,000

PGA TOUR Americas
KIA Open
Quito Tenis Y Golf Club, Quito, Ecuador
10:50pm          Jason Hong
2:50am            Harry Hillier (NZ)
3:30am*           Charlie Hillier (NZ)

Defending champion: Toni Hakula
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US225,000