US Open glory looming for Andy Murray? Jason Day and the 'nappy factor' say yes
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Updated 17/08/2015 at 10:37 GMT
Jason Day's wife is expecting a baby - just like Andy Murray's. And history tells us that big wins tend to go hand-in-hand with dirty nappies.
Andy Murray; and Jason Day, with his son Dash
Image credit: AFP
WHAT HAPPENED
Just days after announcing that he and new wife Kim Sears are expecting their first child, Andy Murray stormed to victory at the Montreal Masters.
It was the Scot's fourth tournament victory of the season, but by far the biggest, and more importantly his first win over Novak Djokovic since the Wimbledon final in 2013.
After the match finished, Murray dedicated the win to his coach Amelie Mauresmo, who had just given birth to her own child.
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Amelie Mauresmo
Image credit: Eurosport
Some 900 miles away in Wisconsin, Australia's Jason Day finally made his big breakthrough by landing a Major - shooting a nerveless final round 69 to win the US PGA Championship, and in doing so set a new low score to par for a Major.
Day has a host of good finishes in Majors, with runners-up spots at the Masters and US Open to his name, but hadn't yet managed to get over the line.
When he did, what jumped out was the young family greeting him: his son, Dash, and wife Ellie, who is heavily pregnant with the couple's second child (due in October).
Day has been clearly desperate to win a Major, tearing up after falling short at The Open a few weeks ago, and blubbing openly as he came down the stretch on Sunday.
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Jason Day with wife Ellie and son Dash at the US PGA Championship in 2015
Image credit: Reuters
Two big names in sport, two big wins in two of the biggest events of the summer in their respective fields. Both men playing, knowing that there is an extra mouth on the way. Is there a link?
THE NAPPY FACTOR
The term 'nappy factor' was coined by golf betting guru Keith Elliott a few years ago after he noticed a consistently repeating pattern in golf results: as fatherhood looms, players tend to up their game significantly.
Nobody really knows why, of course, though it's easy to delve into the realms of pop psychology.
Is it a remnant of Neolithic hunter-gatherer instinct, giving players the edge as they go out to provide for their family?
Is it the general feelgood factor about life which boosts happiness and positivity?
Is it just having a huge off-course distraction? While having your concentration upset can hurt in many sports, the general consensus in golf is that it helps to have a distraction, enabling you stop obsessing about the context and stay in the moment over each shot.
All these suggestions have been put forward, and all probably have merit. But whatever the underlying reason, the pattern is clear: rather than being undone and put off their stride by late-night nappy changes, golfers tend to be inspired to greater heights.
WHERE THE NAPPY FACTOR HAS STRUCK
After years of knocking on the door, Phil Mickelson won his first Major a year after the birth of his son, Evan.
Ernie Els went on a barnstorming run in the Majors after the birth of his son, Ben, winning one (the 2002 Open) and earning seven top-10 finishes in the first 10 Majors after the birth.
Zach Johnson and Trevor Immelman both won the Masters a few months after the births of their first children.
And when Luke Donald pulled off the unprecedented feat of topping the money lists both in America and Europe in 2011 - becoming world number one as he did so - he put it down to his two young daughters.
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Zach Johnson and Trevor Immelman at the 2008 Masters
Image credit: Reuters
"There's no coincidence between my successes on the golf course and the birth of my first child. Becoming a father really helped me as a golfer. I was able to let go of mistakes," Donald said.
"It has made me grown-up. It puts things into perspective that I'm going to try my a*** off at golf. If it doesn't work out, so be it. I've got a healthy family at home."
Does the same rule apply in tennis? Absolutely, according to Novak Djokovic, who has credited fatherhood with making him the dominant force in men's tennis.
And Djokovic is not alone in feeling: Roger Federer had been widely written off after seemingly being usurped by Rafa Nadal in 2008.
Yet when he and wife Mirka started a family he enjoyed a resurgence, making all four Grand Slam finals in 2009 and winning two of them.
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Roger Federer's family (Wife Twins Charlene Myla) and members of his team celebrate his victory over Andy Murray of Britain in the men's singles final for the Wimbledon Championships.
Image credit: dpa
And the birth of his second set of twins in May 2014 also gave him a boost, with the Swiss making a Grand Slam final for the first time in two years and once again re-establishing himself as one of the world's best.
OUR VIEW
As with everything in sport, there are multiple factors - and the fact that Donald's career has faltered in recent years shows that .
But when it comes to firing a player's determination to win, giving them an extra few per cent when they're already playing well, it can be a genuine factor.
And that bodes very well for Andy Murray's chances of winning a second US Open in a few weeks' time…
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