Jason Day makes dream come true for winner of Wells Fargo’s Succeeding Together essay contest Kobe Narcisse

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jason Day said he felt good about his game, and the positive impact he had on a junior golfer, as he prepares to defend his title at the site of his most recent PGA TOUR triumph.

Day played with Kobe Narcisse, 14, in the tournament’s pro-am at Quail Hollow Club. It was Narcisse’s prize for winning Wells Fargo’s Succeeding Together essay contest.

“It was a dream of mine,” Narcisse said.

Day dispatched putting tips to his young pro-am partner, and there may not be a better source for such information. Day is fourth on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting. That club was key to his success at Quail Hollow last year. Day leaned heavily on his short game, finishing first in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and second in Strokes Gained: Putting, to beat Aaron Wise and Nick Watney by two shots.

“I was hitting it off the map and I was trying to get it in the hole,” Day said.

He may not have won since last year’s Wells Fargo, but he’s 33rd in this season’s FedExCup. He has five top-10s in 11 starts this season, including an eighth-place finish at THE PLAYERS Championship and T5 at the Masters.

“Obviously it’s hard to be patient sometimes because you know you want to win. I feel it’s right there,” Day said.

Narcisse, a member of The First Tee of New Orleans, started the first golf team at his school. He overcame early resistance by explaining the game’s benefits to his classmates.

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“I explained that golf is the kind of sport that strengthens one’s mental stamina, one’s ability to focus,” Narcisse wrote in his winning essay. “Before long, we had enough interested students to start a team.

“Rather than back away from the idea because of indifference, I felt confident in my ability to help my peers realize the benefits of learning to play. Although we are still a very young team in terms of skill, we are indeed a team.”

Narcisse also wrote that his father, who helped him develop a strong work ethic, is his biggest role model.

“I will never forget when he said, ‘If you want to get to where you’re at the top, you have to work harder than the next person because others are trying to work just as hard to achieve their goals,’” Narcisse wrote. “From that moment on, I began to look at life differently. I realized that consistency was the key in everything I did. … Consistently excelling is the discipline I now live by.”

On Wednesday, that pursuit of excellence earned him a spot alongside one of the PGA TOUR’s top players.