Jason Day Shares Phenomenal Insight On What It Means To Play Golf For Your Country In The Olympics

Jason Day is a 13-time winner on the PGA Tour, the winner of the 2015 PGA Championship, has finished runner-up in each of the other three major championships, been a member of four Presidents Cup teams. To say he's been in his fair share of pressure-packed situations on the golf course would be an understatement, but what he felt during the first round of the 2024 Olympics golf tournament was unlike anything he'd ever experienced.

After firing a 2-under 69 on Thursday at Le Golf National, the Australian was incredibly candid about the emotions he was feeling in Paris on Thursday while admitting that he was even surprised at the level of nerves he had to begin the day.

"This is probably the most nervous I've been wearing a set of clothes that you look down and see the colors," Day told reporters. "The first couple holes caught me off-guard actually quite a lot. I was quite nervous standing over the first tee shot and then it took me a few holes to get over it.

"It's amazing, we're not playing for money this week obviously. We are playing for a medal and you're here kind of playing for free. But my point is, is that like it feels totally different. This is the most I've felt nervous standing on a tee box wearing a set of clothes that I'm wearing for the first time. It's a good feeling because it just shows that it means a lot to me, which is good."

Jason Day is thrilled, and nervous, representing Australia in the 2024 Olympics.  Credit: Joseph Cress-USA TODAY Sports

Day certainly isn't the only athlete at the Olympics who has been overcome with both pride and nerves, but his comments carry a bit more weight after he elected to skip teeing it up in the 2016 Olympics.

Those Summer Olympics in Rio marked the return of golf to the Games, but a number of athletes decided to opt out because of the reported Zika virus. While hindsight is always 20/20, Day admitted ahead of this week's tournament that he regretted missing Rio.

"Looking back on it, there’s some regret, obviously, in not going," he said. "At the time, I think I was like No.1 or No.2 in the world and I think I was like to a point where I was kind of burnt out, and the last thing on my mind was representing Australia in the Olympics.

"I should have just sucked it up and played. It would have been a great experience for me to go down there and represent something that’s bigger than you, you know what I mean?"

It's always refreshing to hear some of the best athletes in their respective sports speak about the Olympics carrying so much meaning when there is hardly any money involved.