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Day praised for US Open showing
(Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
Australian golfer Stephen Leaney has praised the way fellow vertigo sufferer Jason Day coped with the illness at the US Open.
Day was in contention for the majority of the four rounds at Chambers Bay but ended up in a share of ninth place as his condition and the tough Chambers Bay course took their toll.
The Australian has suffered from vertigo for a number of years and was seen to fall down heading down the 18th fairway of his second round due to dizziness.
He received on-course treatment before finishing his round and went on to complete the tournament in level par, albeit with visible signs of discomfort throughout.
Leaney, who was second in the US Open back in 2003, also suffers from the condition and he had nothing but praise for his compatriot.
“It’s amazing that he could even keep playing,” the 46-year-old told foxsports.com.au. “The best way for me to describe it is, it’s like trying to play golf when you’re drunk.
“You can’t ever get yourself in a position where you’re balanced and focused enough to hit a golf shot.”
And the four-time European Tour winner admitted that it was almost impossible for Day to maintain his challenge at the top of the leaderboard.
“I did notice he was holding his yardage book up high in front of his face to stop himself from looking down,” he added. “I’m not surprised that he ran out of gas in the end. For starters it’s a US Open, so that’s hard enough.”
