After soaking up the applause from the gallery at Royal Troon at the conclusion of The British Open in July, Jason Day was beaming as he bounded towards a courtesy car.

An inability to handle the wild weather at the Ayrshire links a day earlier had curtailed his hopes of claiming a second major, but the Australian star had rebounded well and was in good spirits as he considered his performance at the major.

After a birdie on the 72nd hole, which saw him finish at 1-over and in a tie for 13th, Day briefly touched on the months ahead as he walked to the car waiting to whisk him to a nearby airport.

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The 36-year-old, who is among the star acts in the Presidents Cup held at Royal Montreal this week, was looking forward with excitement to his Olympic debut in Paris.

And with a top 50 FedEx ranking secure – he finished in 33rd position – he wanted to make up for unfinished business in his return to the Presidents Cup after a seven-year absence. Being part of a winning International Team is among his burning ambitions.

But the immediate priority was a dash back to Ohio to see his family, with the nearby Prestwick Airport making the turnaround between Scotland and his home a relatively swift one despite it being a trans-Atlantic voyage.

The kids and his wife Ellie were waiting, he explained. And when you have five children, sacrifices have to be made in order to be able to spend as much time as possible with them.

Missing the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony was one of them. That experience can wait until Los Angeles in 2028.

But having been stricken by injury and illness for several seasons, combined with the demands of raising a young family, Day said he was enjoying spreading his wings further whenever an opportunity arose while mindful that the career clock was ticking

The Olympics debut is an example. The Presidents Cup appearance for the first time since 2017 is another.

And in November, Day will play at home for the first time in seven years after previous bids to return proved ill-fated or were avoided with good reason.

Little wonder the smile has returned to his face. Having been pain free for a couple of years and now back featuring in big events like the Presidents Cup, Day has regained his world-beating bounce.

As he told AustralianGolf Digest, he now has a greater “appreciation for being able to go out and play”.

“I think in my younger days, I didn’t really look towards the Presidents Cup as something that I wanted to play in, because it is such an individual sport, and I never really cared too much to play in the Presidents Cup, because all I cared about was playing on the PGA Tour and trying to win,” he said.

“Obviously, the Olympics kind of opened my eyes a little bit, to know that it’s a little bit more than yourself. To be a part of the Presidents Cup team … look, if I play one match, I’m going to do the best I can. I’m just here for the team to try to support them the best I can. If they play me five times, then I’m ready to go five times. I don’t care how much it is.”

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THE BAD BACK THAT BROUGHT ON BAD VIBES

Despite being an Australian star who has a major to his name and topped the world golf rankings for 51 weeks, the Queenslander has been subjected to harsh critiques from home soil on occasion.

That largely stems from his rare ventures back to compete in Australian Tour events, but it is worth reiterating there are extenuating circumstances associated with his extended absence.

Day, who was honoured as The Don of Australian sport for his remarkable season in 2015 which included the US PGA success, does not have a local tour triumph to his name.

Having earned a PGA Tour card as a teenager, his competitive history in Australian events is not extensive but he has harboured a desire to play where possible.

There was a clear focus on striking in the majors and on the PGA Tour when he was among the hottest golfers on the planet between 2014 and 2016.

But then he fell prone to serious issues. Vertigo literally floored him during the US Open in 2015 and continued to flare when he was stressed over the years to come.

A chronic back complaint that lasted for years was more of a concern as it curtailed his ability to practice and restricted his capacity to pursue more regular activities as well. Anyone who has endured a bad back will know just how debilitating the condition can be.

At one stage he resorted to a technique involving blowing up balloons for 30 minutes prior to a round in the hope it would shape his rib cage back into working order, as he said in 2019.

It was an exercise that made the pilots flying him to Augusta that year look at him sideways.

“It sounds like you have let one go, right? Every 30 seconds, I would be letting the balloons out and these guys are looking at me very strangely. But they understood what was going on,” he said.

“Sometimes I wake up and I feel like I’m 50. Sometimes I wake up and I feel like I’m 70. And sometimes I wake up and feel like I’m 18 again. It just comes and goes and that is how it is.”

But that year, when the complaint forced his withdrawal from the Australian Open not to long before the tournament, social media accounts blew up in their assessments and a number were scarcely forgiving of him.

Day, who has only played the Australian Open five times, was defended at the time by former stars Mike Clayton and fellow major winner Ian Baker-Finch.

His absence was not surprising. He was blowing up bloody balloons, after all, just to get going and the flight between the US and Australia is not the easiest for healthy individuals, even for those flying at the pointy end of planes, let alone those with a crook back.

“I’m very disappointed that Jason isn’t coming back. It would have been great for fans to see him play two big events in two Australian cities,” Baker-Finch said.

“But I am more concerned about his back, for a 32-year-old, than I am about him not returning to Australia. Playing through injury just to satisfy fans can only worsen his back and hurt his confidence if he is playing poorly in front of home crowds.

“He needs to spend time rehabilitating his back for next year, because he is a remarkable talent who has had an unlucky run with injuries.

It was not just injuries, either. Covid-19 made it impossible for Australians to travel overseas and extremely hard for athletes to commit to a return home.

Then, in 2022, his mother Dening died of lung cancer after battling the illness for several years. She had raised Day and his siblings after the death of their father Alvin when the star was 12.

Regrets? Day has a few, including missing the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 citing the threat of the Zika virus.

But nor has he experienced the easiest of rides on the fairway of life over the past decade, despite the blessing of five children, though the signs are positive that the worst is behind him as he seeks to make up for lost time on the links.

A PASSION FOR THE PRESIDENTS CUP

Day, who will play in his sixth Presidents Cup, touched on those struggles and why he is so pleased to be back competing in the events he wants to play prior to the teams event in Montreal this week.

The 13-time PGA Tour winner has finished second in all four majors and, while his 13th at The Open this year was his best result after finishing runner-up at Royal Liverpool in 2023, he is now confident of being able to contend again.

“Getting back to the position I am today, it was obviously a lot of hard work and dedication that everyone puts in every single week,” he said at a pre-tournament press conference.

“I kind of dove deep into it because it was more about a lifestyle and (it was) kind of similar to when I was trying to become number one in the world. I’ve had to work my way out of the position I was in with the injuries and then the loss of confidence in my game.

“That was difficult and it was a hard five years. I feel like I had a lot more to give in my game. I didn’t feel like I should have stopped playing, even though there were many times I was thinking the other way and thinking I could have walked away.

“(But) my support team always pushed me forward (and) I’m glad I went through that journey, because careers aren’t always up and (there are) kind of jagged roads and that will ultimately lead to where you want to try to achieve.

“I’m trying to get back to normal in the world. I know the young guys these days hit it a long way and they’ve got game. But I know that

when I’m in my best (form), I feel I can compete against these guys. I’ve got the experience.”

He has endured some testing moments in the Presidents Cup and has a record of five wins, 11 losses and four ties, though only in 2015 was he at the absolute peak of his profession.

After posting three wins from five matches at Muirfield in 2013, a year the US won 18.5 to 15.5 he arrived at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon, Korea, with high expectations two years later.

The International Team, which had a solitary success back at Royal Melbourne in 1998, came closest to a second title when edged 15.5 -14.5 but Day failed to fire.

“I felt disappointed in my game because I was number one in the world at that time and I just didn’t quite give the energy that I wanted to in that Presidents Cup,” he said.

“I didn’t play well. And there were a couple of matches early in the week that came down to 18 and we lost on 18. And I didn’t play great against Dustin Johnson in the Singles. Looking back on it, I wish I could have given a little bit more, being one of the better players on that team at the time.

“Obviously, it’s hard to be on the receiving end of losing. That’s difficult, because you know those guys out there are actually giving their hearts and they’re trying their hardest to compete with their teammates. In 2015, I didn’t do enough to help the team. That’s disappointing for me.”

A regret? Again, the Aussie has had a few.

But it is fuelling his fire for this edition of the event and he has sourced a more connected vibe since his return to the 12-man team, noting the decision by Ernie Els in 2019 to design a team shield had been a positive factor in unifying players from different continents.

“I’ve missed a couple since then and it seems like the guys are playing for a single flag now, which is fantastic because sometimes when you’re playing for multiple countries, even though it’s an honour, it kind of gets lost in the team spirit,” he said.

“It’s nice to be able to play under one flag, knowing that we’re all competing for each other, competing for that Shield and competing for the rest of the world. It’s nice we have transitioned into this new identity. It will continue to grow over time.

“There have been a lot of positives. All the friendships that we get out of it seems like we always become closer as a team, as a unit. As the years have progressed, the team dynamics and the way we look at things have changed. It’s been great to see.”