Porter Cup signals return to form for Jason Day
IN: News | US Mens Amateur | Porter Cup (2005) | Wrap | by Bruce Young | 24 Jul 2005
17-year-old Jason Day today showed that his recovery from debilitating back injury earlier this year is all but complete when he reeled off a last round 65 at this week's Porter Cup in Niagara Falls to finish in a share of second, just two shots behind the brilliant Spaniard Pablo Martin-Benavides.
19-year-old Martin-Benavides attends Oklahoma State University but has already established himself as one of the world's leading amateurs.
Day, who has been in the US for the last six weeks playing tournament golf, has been slowly returning to the form he displayed in the twelve months leading up to the Australian Junior Championship in April where his back injury forced him to quit playing for several weeks in order to have him fit for his trip to the US.
Ten days ago, at the Callaway World Junior Championship at Torrey Pines, Day finished eighth when looking to defend his 2004 victory at that event, indicating that things were getting back on track after a series of good if unspectacular results in the past month.
Day's first event in the US this year was at the Sunnehana Amateur in Pennsylvania when he finished in 17th place behind winner Michael Sim. At the Monroe Invitational in Pittsford New York he finished 12th, again behind Sim. Day also finished 31st at the North East Amateur Championship in Rhode Island before heading to California.
The Porter Cup is one of the leading amateur tournaments in the US and has been won by some of the games leading players. Those include Phil Mickelson, Scott Verplank, Ben Crenshaw, John Cook and David Duval. The only Australian to have won the event was when Brisbane's Simon Nash won in 2002.
Day now heads to the Western Amateur in Benton Harbour in Michigan where in 2004 Australian James Nitties was beaten in the final by Ryan Moore.
