"If my dad didn't pass away," he said, "I don't think I would've been in a good spot. ... When a door closes, another door opens for that opportunity. ... I have no idea where I would be, what I would be doing. Probably wouldn't be doing much of anything."
So long before Jason Day conquered his demons and doubts at Whistling Straits, he was the ultimate money player. He'd explained last year -- when not many people outside a small circle of hard-core golf fans were listening -- that as much as he burned to someday supplant Tiger Woodsas the world's greatest player, he wasn't consumed by the pursuit of trophies.
"I wanted to play for money," he said then, "because I never had it before."
Only he wasn't among those who showed up Sunday giving off a detached, privileged vibe. Day arrived at Whistling Straits with all the rage of that boy who arrived at Swatton's Kooralbyn International School, where he immediately engaged in a shouting match with his coach, and then channeled his anger toward his faraway dream.
Day wasn't the most talented prospect at the academy, not even close. "He just outworked everybody," Swatton said. "He just put in more hours than anybody else."