CHARLOTTE, NC – MAY 05: Jason Day of Australia plays his tee shot on the 13th hole during the third round of the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club on May 5, 2018, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
By E. Michael Johnson
Jason Day had a bunch of different clubs in the bag since his last win, even though that was only three months ago at the Farmers Insurance Open. Even so, Dazy had a different 3-wood, low wedge and, importantly as it turned out, new irons.
The new additions since Torrey Pines include a TaylorMade M4 3-wood and the company’s Milled Grind Hi-Toe lob wedge, but the key club was the incredible 7-iron Day hit on the 230-yard, par-3 17th that hit the hole and stopped a few feet away led to a crucial birdie. The club Day used was a TaylorMade P730 muscle back blade 7-iron. Day put the new irons in play at the Masters. At the time, Day ranked 106th in greens in regulation and was not happy with either the trajectory or spin rate of his previous set.
“I wasn’t quite happy with how I was hitting it at the Match Play,” said Day at Augusta National. “I was launching it a little bit higher and spinning a little bit too much . . . you have to be able to control your trajectory and your spin. So hopefully with a little bit of a change, that could spark something. And you never know, hopefully, I can come into a week like this and really hit a lot of greens and give myself opportunities.”
RELATED: Jason Day earns his second victory of the year at the Wells Fargo Championship
Day actually did not have a great week in terms of greens in regulation (hitting just 41 of 72 for a 56.9 percent clip), but his trusty TaylorMade Spider Tour Red mallet putter bailed him out. For the week Day picked up nearly two strokes a round on the field on the greens and on Sunday, that number was north of three strokes. Still, it was the 7-iron shot on 17 that people were talking about—and that Day will most remember.
What Jason Day had in the bag at the Wells Fargo Championship:
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
Driver: TaylorMade M3 460 (TPT Golf Prototype), 9.5 degrees
3-wood: TaylorMade M4, 16.5 degrees
Irons (3): TaylorMade P790; (4-PW): TaylorMade P730
Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind (50, 56 degrees); TaylorMade Milled Grind Hi-Toe (60 degrees)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Red