• The Australian
• September 15, 2015 12:00AM
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Greg Norman shows off the medal named in his honour in Sydney yesterday.

Greg Norman bit his tongue yesterday when asked to nominate the player most likely to become the inaugural winner of the medal struck in his honour. He was less reluctant to opine on his admiration for Jason Day.

“I love the kid to death,” Norman said.

“I love his story, I love the way he has approached life and his belief in himself. More than that, I love the way he has kept the inner core of his team as tight as what it is.

“He has got a tremendous group of people around him. And finally, his priority with his family is extremely high for him.

“Basing himself in Ohio in the middle of winter is probably not the smartest move for him in golf but you know what, he loves it, he does it and it’s working extremely well for him.

“From a golf standpoint, every player who plays the game wants to win a major championship.

“He has knocked on the door a lot. All he had to do was be patient. I told him ‘once you bite that snake’s head off, that snake is dead forever’.

“He just had to keep believing. He never changed his philosophy, he never changed his game plan and he never changed his belief that he was going to get there.

“The way he got there at the PGA Championship was just phenomenal.”

Day is a prohibitive favourite to win the inaugural Greg Norman Medal, which the Australia PGA Tour announced yesterday would be awarded to the best male or female player on the local and international stage each year.

The award will be judged by a five-member panel of current and former professionals — Peter O’Malley, Michael Long, Ian Baker-Finch, Graham Marsh and Jane Crafter.

Norman won’t be directly involved in the decision, although PGA Tour of Australia chief executive Brian Thorburn confirmed he would be consulted.

Mind you, the decision shouldn’t be too difficult. Day has enjoyed a breakout season, not only securing his first major but winning on the US PGA Tour and moving within striking distance of the world No 1 ranking he has coveted since he was a teenager.

“I think it’s admirable that he vocalised the fact he wants to be No 1,” Norman said.

“You don’t hear that too often especially in our sport. Guys keep it internal. For him to put it out there, he is setting himself public goals.

“He’ll get there for sure.”

Day won’t be at the Australian PGA on Queensland’s Gold Coast later this year where the medal will be announced, but that won’t preclude him taking out the award.

“I was always a big believer that you had to support your home country,” Norman said.