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By Dave Lagarde
PGATOUR.com Correspondent

The weekend gallery isn't where one might expect to find a player who missed the 36-hole in a Nationwide Tour event. But darn if that little scenario didn't play out Saturday before last in the Henrico County Open in suburban Richmond, Va.

Jason Day is averaging 306.4 yards per drive, 10th on the Nationwide Tour in 2007. (WireImage)

The failed-to-qualify contestant in question was Australian Jason Day, who, at 19, is the youngest player on Tour in 2007.

Only Day didn't necessarily look -- or dress -- like Day. He wore a Boston Red Sox baseball cap, pulled down to his eyebrows. Sunglasses also were part of, well, a sheepish Day's desired disguise.

"I was trying not to be noticed,'' said Day, who at least eschewed a spy-wear trench coat as he trudged around the Dominion Club layout following the twosome of Roland Thatcher and Greg Chalmers.

Driven to improve, Day was on a mission, randomly searching for some helpful hints on game and course management, invaluable commodities he felt were temporarily lacking in his game.

Accustomed to winning in short-but-sweet amateur career, Day was vexed by his spate of middle-of-the-pack finishes since he arrived in the United States in late March.

Sure, Day understood the level of competition had risen dramatically and included many players with PGA TOUR seasoning.

But he also felt he could more than hold his own. After all, hadn't he been in a four-hole playoff in the Queensland PGA Championship in 2005 after shooting a 62 in the third round -- on his 17th birthday?

Hadn't he finished as low amateur in the Australian Open (tied for 22) and Australian Masters (tied for 13) in 2004? And then there were the ties for 13th in the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee and 11th at the Reno-Tahoe Open in 2006 as he stuck a toe in the deep water of the PGA TOUR.

That's why Day, who began the season with conditional status after tying for 116th in last years PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament, was puzzled by his first three starts -- two after Monday qualifying -- on the Nationwide Tour in 2007. There was nothing better than a tie for 26th at Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship.

And that's why Day took to the Dominion Club golf course, following the twosome of Thatcher and Aussie Chalmers, who shares swing coach Colin Swatton with Day.

"I wanted to see how I measured up to what they were doing,'' Day said.

Day watched Thatcher post an eye-opening six-under-par 66. He watched the pair accept poor shots and move on to the next. And he learned.

"A lot,'' he said.

Among the lessons were he should be shaping the ball more on his approach shots to greens; that he needed to tighten up his short game, and that he needed to be better with his scoring clubs. Most important, though, was that he needed to leave his ego "on the range.''

"I saw I couldn't go after every pin or hit it perfectly with every swing,'' he said. "There is nothing wrong with hitting it 20 feet from the cup. You can still putt it in, you know.''

Day didn't exactly break new ground with his discoveries. He merely reinforced what he already knew although the lessons were lost when he started pressing for results.

"The main thing I got was, be smart, eliminate mistakes whenever possible, play the course,'' he said.

Putting what he gleaned to work last in the Fort Smith Classic presented by Stephens, Day strung together four consecutive rounds in the 60s, culminated by a nine-under-par 62 Sunday to earn a tie for fourth, his best finish as a professional. He earned $23,100, jumping from 40th to 27th on the money list, just two places outside the precious top 25 that leads to the Nationwide Tour's Holy Grail, a place on the PGA TOUR in 2008.

Nevertheless Day, who three-putted the 72nd for his only bogey as he aggressively attempted to squeeze one more birdie out of his round, wasn't as pleased with his four-day performance as one might expect. Too many mistakes, he said.

"I made 23 birdies and only had 14-under to show for it,'' he said. "That's nine mistakes in my eyes. You can't do that and expect to win at this level.''

But make no mistake the driven Day has winning in his crosshairs.

"This (finish) feels good,'' he said. "I'll go back and look at my statistics and see what I can improve on. The idea is to minimize the bad weeks. I honestly feel like I can come through with a win.''

Succeeding in golf is what Day is all about, has been since his life turned around at the age of 12. He was introduced to golf at three when his dad Alvin, who did not play the game, found an old 3-wood in a rubbish bin and gave it to his son.

"I always liked to hit things,'' recalled Day, who also fancied cricket. "I went onto a golf course for the first time at seven and attended all the junior clinics. I fell in love with the game. I'd run back from school and start playing.''

Alvin's stomach pains started when Day was 11. He saw a doctor, but was not diagnosed. The pain persisted so he visited again a month later when the cancer was discovered. Four months later, Alvin dad was dead, leaving behind his Filipino-born wife Dening and the couple's three children, Yanna, Kim and Jason.

Day had a hard time coping with his father's death. He became rebellious and started running with the wrong crowd.

"I didn't really care about anything,'' he said. "I was very wild. I got into trouble a lot, did all the bad stuff, going to parties, staying out late. There was a lot of drinking.''

That's when Dening stepped in, shipping off her son to boarding school in the Gold Coast hinterland southwest of Brisbane, some seven hours by car from the family home in Rockhampton, Queensland. Soon his passion for the game was rekindled. Day would rise at five, hit the range by 5:30 and spend practically every waking moment working on his game.

"I was pretty much into my practice,'' said Day, who figured he spent 33 hours each week beating balls. "I was curious to see where it would take me.''

The answer later this month is Mitchellville, Md., just outside of Washington, D.C., where Day will compete in the Melwood Prince George's County Open as his excellent adventure continues.