Jason Day burst into Australian golf’s subconscious like a supernova; Wade Ormsby’s star has shined brighter the further his career has progressed.

Where Day seemed destined for greatness from the time he emerged from the Hills International School west of the Gold Coast, Ormsby had to first get out of his own way before wins of significance were added to his list of career accomplishments.

A winner of the Callaway World Junior Championship in 2004, Day’s story of rescuing a club from the tip at Beaudesert on his path to becoming world No.1 is the stuff of Hollywood.

Joining the professional ranks midway through 2006, Day was immediately signed by TaylorMade-adidas golf and began playing PGA TOUR events on sponsor’s exemptions, finishing inside the top 15 in two of his first five starts.

Twelve months later he won on the Nationwide Tour, effectively securing his advancement to the PGA TOUR in 2008 at just 20 years of age.

Since his breakthrough victory at the 2010 Byron Nelson Championship Day has won 12 PGA TOUR titles in the decade since, including a major triumph at the US PGA Championship in 2015.

A month later he had reached No.1 in the world – just the third Australian male player to reach such heights – on the back of a run of tournaments that included four wins, three further top 10s and a pair of ties for 12th in nine events.

Ormsby, on the other hand, took time to unlock the formula to win tournaments.

The son of decorated PGA Professional Peter Ormsby, Wade turned professional in 2001 after spending three years at the University of Houston.

A successful graduate of European Tour Qualifying School at the end of 2003, Ormsby regularly had to return to Q School to retain his playing privileges, a win at the 2013 Panasonic Open India an important psychological breakthrough.

At the end of 2015 Ormsby was inside the top 150 in the world but it was three years ago that his career entered a new stratosphere.

Victory at the co-sanctioned UBS Hong Kong Open earned Ormsby the mantle as a European Tour winner, claiming that title again for a second time in January 2020.

Jason Day
Career wins: 17
Major wins: 1 (2015 US PGA Championship)
PGA TOUR wins: 12
Australian Open: T4 (2011)
Australian PGA: T9 (2011)

Wade Ormsby
Career wins: 3
Major wins: Nil
European Tour wins: 1 (2017 Hong Kong Open)
Australian Open: 17th (2003)
Australian PGA: T2 (2014)