DAY FINDS LIGHT AT THE END OF LONG TUNNEL

There is a fascinating study that can be made of the great professional golfers and how their careers often centered around one torrid stretch that accentuated their body of work.

- Jim McCabe

Arnold Palmer perhaps is the quintessential example. While he was arguably the game's biggest star for the bulk of time from 1960 to 1975, he won all seven of his major titles between April of 1958 and April of 1964.

When he won a fourth Masters in '64, Palmer was just 34 and had you suggested he'd never again win another major, no one would have believed you. But that's how it unfolded.

Now to use an introduction of Arnold Palmer to morph into a discussion of Jason Day is taking great latitude, admittedly. But remember this premise of torrid stretches of play that punctuate careers of great golfers. With Day, the Aussie who took his "can't miss" tag and rode it to the top of world rankings, it is easy to forget in this era of instant gratification just how brilliantly he played at his very best. After all, it wasn't that long ago.

Crazy, but our focus on PGA Tour golfers in today's landscape is often fixated on Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. Best pals since their American Junior Golf Association days. College rivals while at Texas and Alabama. Glued at the hip as Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teammates. In their 20s, they each caught fire on the PGA Tour and got to No. 1 in the world.

For five years (2013-2017), Spieth won 13 times, three of them majors. Thomas' five-year stretch (2016-2020) produced 13 wins, two of them majors.

Suffice to say, their legends are cemented, even if as 30-year-olds they at caught in a drought. Wins have come painfully infrequently since their torrid stretches, and the fact they have fallen to Nos. 19 (Spieth) and 28 (Thomas) in the Official World Golf Ranking has people wondering what's wrong.