AP - Jason Day has revealed he suffered a bout of vertigo at St Andrews that may have cost him the British Open last July.
Day's dramatic struggles with the debilitating condition during last year's US Open in June are well documented, but the world No.2 only disclosed his subsequent bout in Scotland as he was preparing to return for 2016 at this week's Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
He said he battled vertigo, which affects vision and balance, during the seven holes he played on Saturday of the weather-delayed Open Championship.
"It came back, but I didn't tell anyone about it because it would be a lot more questions that would happen, and it wasn't as severe," Day said.
"I was a little dizzy that day, and it happened the Saturday of The Open Championship. I just kept my mouth shut about it because I knew that it would open another can of worms, and I didn't want to talk about it."
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Day said he felt better the next day, but the damage had already been done.
While enduring not only his vertigo symptoms but also fierce winds that ultimately forced the suspension of play, Day uncharacteristically missed two short par putts during the farcical 31-minute period on the Saturday.
The two bogeys were among only three for Day in the entire championship and he ended up finishing just one shot outside the three-man playoff won by Zach Johnson.
Day was almost unbeatable after departing St Andrews, winning the Canadian Open the following week, two weeks later capturing his maiden major in the US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits and then claiming two big US tour playoff events to reach No.1 in the world for the first time.
The vertigo first struck on his final hole of the second round at Chambers Bay in the US Open last June, when he hit his tee shot to the par-3 ninth and then collapsed to the ground.
Unsure he could play the next day, he shot 68 was tied for the lead before fading to a 74 and a tie for ninth.
Day did't play again until St Andrews and said he took cortisone in Scotland and got plenty of rest, along with taking what he estimated at 25 pills.
"I made sure I stayed on top of the medication that I had to take that day, and from there, Sunday rolled around and I was feeling much better," he said.
The US-based star will stay on medication for the rest of the year and is seeing a specialist at The Ohio State University Hospital.
"Eye tests and vertigo tests and all that stuff," Day said. "That seemed to come back pretty good, so we're on (medication) for another year and then we're off."
Day can displace Spieth as world No.1 for a third time with victory in Hawaii, where 32 of last year's PGA Tour winners, including Spieth, have assembled, gving the tournament its strongest field in a decade.
