World number two Jason Day revealed he battled vertigo at The Open last year, having appeared to have overcome the issue. When Day collapsed walking to the ninth green at Chambers Bay during the 2015 U.S. Open in June, it seemed his season was in jeopardy, however the Australian responded by winning four tournaments - including the US PGA Championship - to cap a marvellous year.
Everyone thought the vertigo symptoms had subsided, mainly because Day was noticeably uncomfortable during the U.S. Open and showed no signs of struggling after that, but the 28-year-old - who is still on medication to cope with the condition until the end of the year - said the problem reoccurred at St Andrews a month later.
"It [the vertigo] came back, but I didn't tell anyone about it because it would be a lot more questions that would happen, and it wasn't as severe," Day said on Wednesday as he prepares for the Tournament of Champions. I was a little dizzy that day, and it happened the Saturday of the Open Championship. I just kept my mouth shut about it because I knew that it would open another can of worms, and I didn't want to talk about it."
Despite the recurring vertigo, Day finished in a tie for fourth at The Open and had a 30-foot putt to join the three-man play-off Zach Johnson ultimately won. It has been reported that he is only played four holes since the Tour Championship and it appears he is in jeopardy of succumbing to vertigo at any moment.
"It's just trying to get that mental sharpness back, trying to hit shots and hit shots at targets and go through the mental process of what you need to do to hit shots under pressure," Day added.
With world number one Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler all playing top-level golf, Day will need to keep his motivation up this season.
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