It was finally time.

  After years of consistent performances at Major Championships, the relief of finally winning his first was etched all over the face of Jason Day. He rolled his penultimate putt to within a few inches of the hole and, after bending down to mark his ball, the tears began to flow as the magnitude of the moment began to hit him - an acknowledgement that years of dedication to his craft had finally paid off.

  It always seemed like it would end this way for Day. His mercurial talent is conducive to low scoring so a record-breaking final total of 20 under-par - eclipsing his hero Tiger Woods’ previous record by a single shot - will have surprised very few.

  He couldn’t have asked for a tougher situation at the start of the day. Playing in the same group as 2015’s best player, Jordan Spieth, he knew the American would breathe down his neck all day and with Major winners Justin Rose and Martin Kaymer just behind the danger was everywhere.  

  From the get go it was clear that the pressure wasn’t going to have an impact on him, he birdied the par-5 second hole before birdieng three straight from five through to seven and never let anyone get within two strokes of his lead. Even when things didn’t go perfectly he still found his way out of it – after chunking his wedge shot on the par-four ninth hole to leave him well short of the green it looked like those around him might be able to gain a shot or two; instead, Spieth himself couldn’t get up and down for par and Branden Grace, who at that point was at 16 under and well within striking distance, was busy double-bogeying the tenth hole to end his challenge prematurely.

  The win vaults Day up to number three in the World rankings and leaves golf in the enviable position of having its top three be young, marketable guys to build the foundation of the game on. With Spieth, McIlroy and Day winning five of the last six Majors it’s clear that the game is finally in a healthy enough position to move on from the Tiger Woods era, something it’s been wrestling with since Woods’ game began to atrophy.

  The US PGA is often considered the black sheep of the four Majors; one that lacks the history, prestige and significance of the other three. That won’t matter in the slightest for Day, who rid himself of a rather large monkey on his back and now looks like a threat to win multiple Majors in the coming years.  

  Better late than never! 

What was in Jason's bag?

The marquee group at The PGA Championship this week contains Rory McIlroy & Jordan Spieth, the number 1 & 2 ranked golfers in the world respectively. They'll do battle out on the course with both men looking to one-up the other; however, this isn't the only place that battle will take place. Off the course, Nike (Rory's sponsor) & Under Armour (Spieth's sponsor) will be trying to get the upper hand in the marketing battle that largely centers around both player's clothing. 

Rory McIlroy

You can shop for Rory's gear HERE

You can shop for Jordan's gear HERE

  "I don't know. I hit it, thought I hit it pretty decent" 

  It was a familiar feeling for Dustin Johnson, golf's nearly man for his entire career. Moments earlier he was on the 18th green going through the routine every golfer goes through when analysing a putt: a bend of the knees to get level with the green, a brisk walk to see it from all angles. 

  He knew what to do, or at least he thought he did. He stood over it, drew the putter back and executed the swing. 

  Missed. 

  A gut punch, yes, but still an opportunity remained. Simply sink this putt and he's in an 18 hole play-off for the U.S. Open. It's maybe 4 feet - not a great deal of movement - hit it firm and straight and he's there. He rehearsed the putt once, twice, three times before extending his right arm so that the putter face now met the back of the ball. He brought his left hand across, resting it just atop his right before finally shuffling his feet to get comfortable.

  Again he drew the putter back. Again he executed the swing.

  Again he missed.

  His reaction was fairly muted. A small scowl met his face and his shoulders slumped slightly, but he was never one to show a great deal of emotion anyway. The nature of the defeat suggested it might leave a lasting impression; that Dustin Johnson would never be able to convince himself he could get over the hump. 

  Then St.Andrews came along, a course that would suit his game to a T. His ability to hit the ball in to the stratosphere made many of The Old Course's most formidable holes a formality; the 4th and 17th greens a mere stones throw away. 

  He held the lead after 36 holes playing a brand of golf that made him look invincible, mixing the brutish hitting off the tee with a deft touch around the greens. Then, as has so often been the case, his game fell apart when he needed it most. When seemingly every player around him was making birdie after birdie during the third round he couldn’t find one until the 15^th hole. Par followed par followed par followed par.

  His day would end on the sourest of notes - three straight bogeys on the final three holes left him completely out of contention going in to the final day. The collapse would continue in to the fourth round, at one point he bogeyed 6 out of 7 holes from the 16^th in the third round to the 4^th in the fourth round. Once more from a position of strength he had faded in to the background.

  It’s difficult to lay your finger on exactly what the issue is. When it’s so obvious that the physical tools are there to win Majors the only deduction you can make is it’s an issue he’s having mentally. Looking from the outside it seems that, when the stakes are the highest, he is unable to grind through hole after hole to stop his round getting away from him. When you think of some of the more mentally tough golfers on the tour, it’s often not the rounds of 62 they shot when everything was flowing perfectly, it’s those rounds of 68 or 70 that took every ounce of concentration they had. For whatever reason, Johnson isn’t able to do this yet. The jury is out on whether he can do it in the future.

  Of course, it is worth mentioning that had his putt to win the US Open reached its intended target then the ‘nearly man’ tag would be assigned to the next quality player yet to win a Major. These are the fine lines of sport at the top level. Maybe the missed putts say less about Johnson’s ability in the big moments than they do about the difficulty of putting in general. Maybe the US Open said more about Jordan Spieth than it did about Dustin Johnson. Maybe his problems over the final two rounds at The Open are more a testament to the course and the conditions than they are to his lack of bottle. Maybe he’s just unlucky. After all, he only missed out on a play-off at the 2010 PGA Championship after he was penalised two shots for grounding his club in a bunker.

  Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

  Dustin Johnson is too good to have his career be one, big ‘maybe’.