It’s happening again!! Unlike the major tournaments, Jason Day isn’t drawing attention for his bizarre outfits this time. Instead, fans are unconvinced whether he was a ‘worthy’ choice to represent Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He may have shot 69 and 68 on the first two days of competition at Le Golf National, but he still managed to garner criticism. And guess what? This happened even though the conversation wasn’t even about him!

Bringing Australian representation at the Olympics into the picture, @ProGolfCritic shared a post on X: “Has Min Woo Lee done anything of note in 2024 on the @PGATOUR? It’s a rhetorical question.” The post also highlighted that despite not delivering an ideal performance on the greens, Lee experienced an improvement in his OWGR. After earning a special temporary membership for the PGA Tour in 2023, Lee started this season ranked 37th in the OWGR. And contrary to what the post read, the Australian has had performances to be proud of.

Lee didn’t have the best start to 2024, finishing at T21, T43, and T71 in the first three tournaments. That dropped his ranking to 41st, but then came the turning point: the Cognizant Classic, where he achieved a remarkable T2, leapfrogging him from 41st to 31st in the OWGR. But after a string of underwhelming performances again, he dropped back to 36th. However, then came another high in his season – a T2 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, which took him back to 31st. But after missing the cut at the Open Championship – where Jason Day finished at T13 – Lee was 36th before the Olympics.

Considering the fact that he’s getting acclimatized to the PGA Tour, it’s understandable why there were so many fluctuations in his rankings. As for Jason Day, who’s consistently played on the PGA Tour since turning professional in July 2006, his ranking dropped from 19th at the start of the year to 31st before the Olympics. But this wasn’t why the 36-year-old faced criticism. It was more about his connection to Australia (rather, the lack of one).

After winning the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland last year, Min Woo Lee recently revealed his excitement about possibly defending his title. “It was obviously big for me to win a tournament in Australia. Being in front of my friends and family was massive, and I love Royal Queensland. It’s a course I love playing, and I feel like it suits my game pretty good.” The same, however, can’t be said about Jason Day, who hasn’t played a tournament in Australia since 2017.

So, when @ProGolfCritic ended their post with a question – “How does Australia feel about him repping instead of Cam in @OlympicGolf?” – while some talked about Cameron Davis, many focused on the fact that it should’ve been Jason Day who didn’t represent the land Down Under. 

Fans question whether Jason Day is “even Australian anymore”

“Most Australians are upset that Cam Smith was left out due to the Olympics using the outdated and political OWGR system, which is controlled by the PGAT,” wrote one fan. The top 15 world-ranked golfers automatically qualified for the Games, with a limit of four from one country. Those outside the top 15 were eligible based on the OWGR. With this selection criteria, Jon Rahm recently suggested that countries should have the authority to choose their own representatives. Had this been the approach, it might have helped avoid the Jason-Day-isn’t-worthy issue. But that didn’t happen.

Expressing their disappointment, a fan added, “Min Woo should be there, but J Day should not be representing Australia; it’s a disgrace,” possibly highlighting the fact that the pro hasn’t gone back to Australia to play golf and that he hasn’t done much to develop the sport in Australia. Agreeing with this and alluding that Day hasn’t played in the Australian Open for eight years, others chimed in saying: “I’d rather see Cam than Jason Day; Min-woo comes back and plays in Australia regularly,” and “Better than having Jason Day Rep them. Jason day hasn’t even played a tournament in Australia since 2017.” Case in point: His imminent Australian PGA Championship appearance.

Australia has always been on the backend of the golf spectrum, and it is LIV Golf that has been organizing events there to draw the crowd in. This fan also took a jab at Day, saying, “Extremely overrated player and wannabe celebrity, IMO.” They highlighted that, despite knowing his bizarre outfits make him a laughing stock in the community, Day continues to wear them at Malbon Golf.

Since becoming a brand ambassador in January, he has sported these outfits at tournaments, including the last major. This fan believes Day must enjoy the attention, hence labeling him a “wannabe celebrity.” Not exactly targeting the golfer, but one fan criticized the Olympic golf selection criteria, saying, “Is there anyone saying the system is correct??” Surprisingly, this fan isn’t alone in disagreeing with the selection criteria. LIV Golfers like Joaquin Niemann and Jon Rahm feel the same.

Niemann recently said, “I don’t think it’s fair.” Meanwhile, Rahm said, “Allow the countries to pick themselves.” While many disagreed that Min Woo Lee shouldn’t be the one representing Australia, one fan boldly wrote: “We’d rather have him than Day, who never comes out and supports the Australian Tour in our summer. We wonder if he’s even Australian anymore.” Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), more agreed with this sentiment. Likely taking a sarcastic dig at Day, a user expressed contentment with Lee: “We feel good because he’s Australian.”

Who do you think would have been the most suitable pro to represent Australia at the Le Golf National?

Update: Jason Day is tied for 10th in Paris after Round 3, with a score of 9-under. He has a five-shot deficit to make up for on Sunday to be in contention for a medal. But from what he said, it seems like that’s exactly what his plan is. “I’m going to be pushing tomorrow. I need to try and win a medal. That’s my goal.”