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Jason Day’s 2024 Masters tournament will be remembered for his infringement of Augusta National’s strict policies rather than the quality of his golf.
Day’s +6 aggregate over four rounds was enough for a T30 finish and a $124,000 cheque in the first major of the year, but his controversial Malbon sweater on Friday proved the main talking point of his week.
The former world No.1 revealed that he was asked by an Augusta National official to remove his loud sleeveless top that had the words of the fictitious “Malbon Golf Championship” emblazoned across it.
“They asked me to take it off,” he said. “Respectfully, you do that because it’s all about the tournament here, and I understand that. I respect the tournament.
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Once that social media storm had settled, though, attention turned to Day’s plans after the Masters.
The resurgent 36-year-old is back in the world’s top 50 after ending his winning drought last year and is primed to represent Australia in this summer’s Olympic Games.
Day has now outlined his goal to chase medals in Paris after opting to skip the 2016 Games in Rio.
“I’ll play,” Day confirmed. “If I’m in, I’ll play for sure. I’m looking forward to it. I think I made a bit of a mistake not going down to Rio, even though part of it was family related.
“I kind of missed out on that and I probably should have gone. But if I get the opportunity, I’m looking forward to going.”
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Day was one of a number of top golfers who missed golf’s return to Olympics in Brazil over concerns about the Zika Virus.
He did not qualify for the Tokyo showpiece that took place in 2021 due to his malaise in form, but is now ready to compete at Le Golf National, the home of the 2018 Ryder Cup.
Who Day will partner in Paris, however, remains to be seen. Min Woo Lee looks poised to make the cut, but LIV Golf’s Cameron Smith’s involvement is uncertain without regular access to the world ranking points which determine Olympic qualification.
“Whoever is playing the well, that would be great,” Day added. “I think Min Woo is playing good solid golf. And obviously Smithy, playing in LIV you don’t get points. He needs to play well in the major championships, trying to shoot himself up the leaderboard.”
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