Jason Day Wins Inaugural Greg Norman Medal
(December 1, 2015) – Jason Day has capped a memorable year by winning the inaugural Greg Norman Medal.
Day, who broke through for his first major when he won the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in August, was unable to attend the ceremony, which was held last night at Royal Pines on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
However, he appeared by video-link and thanked the PGA of Australia for its support over the past decade while his mother Dening accepted the award from Norman on his behalf.
“It’s an honour and a privilege to win the Greg Norman Medal. It caps off an amazing year,” Day said. “I’d like to thank the PGA of Australia for launching this medal with Greg Norman and their support over the past 10 years.”
Day won the award as the best-performed tour professional on the international stage, beating a field which included Adam Scott, Matt Jones, Marc Leishman, Minjee Lee and Karrie Webb.
It was richly deserved after a year in which, apart from securing his first major title, Day rose to No 1 in the world rankings, played for the International team at the Presidents Cup in South Korea and finished in the top 10 at two other majors — The British and US Opens.
It also comes only a matter of weeks after Day was presented with the 2015 Don Award from the Sport Australia Hall of Fame for producing the most inspiring sporting performance of the year.
“Phenomenal year — five victories and obviously winning his first major championship, in very impressive style too I thought at Whistling Straits,” Norman said last night at the ceremony. “He stood out head and shoulders above all other players male and female, and a great representative for Australian golf.
“It’s not going to change for him. His family life is very stable, he has a new daughter, and that is going to help him re-focus on where he wants to go next year. He is going to be regenerated because he is taking time off right now.
“I expect the same things out of him next year as we saw this year.”
Day didn’t return to Australia to play in any of the major events this summer, preferring to stay in America with wife Ellie for the birth of his daughter Lucy last month. However, Tour officials have outlined their plans to entice Day home next year, when the World Cup will be played in Melbourne.
“All Australians would love to think every Australian would come back and support their tour. I did,” Norman said. “Jason has a huge responsibility on his shoulders — just as much as Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Steven Bowditch. All the guys who played extremely well this year and won tournaments around the world have a responsibility. It’s up to them to balance that.”
