Jason Day – Page 9 – Syndication Server

QBE Shootout: Marc Leishman, Jason Day hold three-shot lead heading into Sunday in Naples

“We’re still 18 holes away from lifting the trophy, so got to stay on top of it.”

NAPLES, Fla. — Marc Leishman just hit repeat, and Leishman and Jason Day repeated holding on to the lead.

Leishman made his third hole-out eagle in two days, and fifth hole-out in two years in the QBE Shootout, and the two Australians built a three-stroke lead after the modified alternate shot in the second round at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort on Saturday.

“I was between lob wedge and sand wedge,” said Leishman, who was 96 yards out. “Just ripped a lob wedge a bit lower and felt like I could land it a bit past it and maybe zip it back and give Jase a chance, because he hadn’t really putted up until then except on the first hole.

“It’s funny, the ones you hole are the ones you don’t expect to go in. I wasn’t expecting it to go in and then all of a sudden it disappears. It’s nice. Something about this place that I’ve made a few shots the last couple years and hopefully we can keep that trend going.”

Jason Day tees off on the 9th hole during the QBE Shootout at the Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Saturday, Dec.11, 2021. (Photo/Chris Tilley)

Defending champions Harris English and Matt Kuchar, who have won three times in six appearances in the Shootout, had taken the lead, but the eagle put Leishman and Day back in front and they never stopped after that, shooting an 8-under 64 that included birdies on three of the last four holes.

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“‘Leish’ once again holing out on 7, amazing,” Day said. “In that kind of format it’s nice to have eagles, it moves the needle a long way, especially when you’re playing that way.”

English and Kuchar, Sam Burns and Billy Horschel, and Jason Kokrak and Kevin Na are all tied for second at 21 under, three behind. Graeme McDowell and Corey Conners got an eagle from Conners on the 17th to move into fifth, another stroke back.

Matt Kuchar of the United States plays his shot from the fourth tee during the second round of the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club on December 11, 2021 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

English and Kuchar had a six-hole stretch of pars on the front before English ended that, and then were making a move on the back nine when English ran a long eagle putt on No. 17 a few feet by, and Kuchar stepped up and missed it. They also parred the reachable par-4 13th.

“I think a little just — what would you call it? — nonchalant’d it, just kind of didn’t focus like normal,” Kuchar said. “It was just a three-footer uphill and that was odd. I’ve been so pleased with my putting and part of golf, happens to everybody.”

“Alternate shot’s always tough,” English said. “‘Kuch’ missed a couple holes not putting and you give him a six- or seven-footer, it’s tough. Having a round with no bogeys is always good. We played some solid golf, it’s just one of those days we didn’t get a whole lot of putts to fall, but it happens.”

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LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson are in sixth at 19 under.

The 12 two-person teams play better ball Sunday in the final of the three formats. Golf Channel has coverage from noon to 2 p.m. ET, followed by NBC from 2 to 4 p.m. ET.

The three-stroke lead is a nice cushion, but Leishman and Day expect to have plenty of work to do in the final round.

“I think there’s a good chance that before we even tee off we won’t be leading,” said Leishman, who played with fellow Australian Cameron Smith last year and finished eighth. “I think when you saw some of the scores today, Billy and Sam shot 10 under? That’s unbelievable in foursomes, or modified foursomes given that. I think we’re going to have to play good, make putts.”

“We’ve just got to focus,” said Day who won the Shootout in his last appearance, with Cameron Tringale in 2014 by a stroke over Kuchar and English. “We’re still 18 holes away from lifting the trophy, so got to stay on top of it.”

THIRD hole out in 2 days for @MarcLeish! 😮

He and @JDayGolf take the lead. pic.twitter.com/goUn2BlOWq

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 11, 2021

Leishman couldn’t help but give a little good-natured challenge to his partner for Sunday.

“We’ve just got to both have chances and then hope we can make some putts, and maybe Jase can make a wedge shot tomorrow, we’ll see,” Leishman said.

“That would be nice, but I’m counting on him,” Day said.

Greg Hardwig is a sports reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @NDN_Ghardwig, email him at ghardwig@naplesnews.com. Support local journalism with this special subscription offer at https://cm.naplesnews.com/specialoffer/

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QBE Shootout: Marc Leishman, Jason Day ride two hole-out eagles to first-round lead

Despite 12 birdies and two eagles, the Aussie pair holds just a one-shot lead.

There are usually a few eagles in the scramble format of the QBE Shootout.

But not usually the way Marc Leishman made two of them to help Leishman and playing partner Jason Day shoot a 16-under 56 and take the first-round lead Friday.

Leishman holed out from in front of the green on No. 6, then holed out a pitch shot on No. 10, so neither of the par-5, hit it on in two and make the putt variety.

“The one on 6 I had a pretty good read off Jase,” Leishman said. “It was a very straightforward chip, but obviously it still takes a little bit of luck for it to actually go in the hole. And then the one on 10, the guys all hitting in front of me, it was on a little knoll I guess you’ll call it. Jase was in there about 10 feet and had a chance to just go straight at it and went straight at it.”

“He landed it absolutely perfect, nice flight, just beautiful, just spun it a little bit and rolled in,” Day said of the eagle on No. 10.

QBE Shootout 2021 — Jason Day and Marc Leishman look on from the third tee during the first round of the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club on December 10, 2021 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

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Leishman and Day made 12 birdies, but the 16-under wasn’t enough to create much distance, especially from the defending champions.

Harris English and Matt Kuchar, and Corey Conners, and Graeme McDowell are both just one back. Lexi Thompson and Bubba Watson, and Jason Kokrak and Kevin Na are tied for fourth, three behind going into Saturday’s modified alternate shot format.

“Felt like last year all over again,” said Kuchar, who has won three times with English. “This place, I think it’s special to both Harris and I. Nice to get off to a good start.”

“Played really solid, gave ourselves a lot of chances,” English said. “Didn’t have any eagles today, we were close, but it’s all about making putts. Matt made a couple good 20-, 25-footers and that’s what keeps the round going, that’s what keeps the momentum going.”

English and Kuchar were 7 under after the front nine, then birdied all but No. 12 on the back nine.

“We tend to play the back nine really well here, got off to a good start on 10 and kept it rolling,” English said. “Keep giving ourselves chances and keep seeing those putts go in.”

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McDowell and Conners capped their round with four birdies and an eagle before parring the 18th.

“Corey drove the ball fantastic,” McDowell said. “The hardest thing I had to do was try to keep in my rhythm when I followed him down the fairway, he drove it so well. It’s always important just to get two looks the best you can. I just felt like we ham-and-egged well.”

Almost as well as the three-time champions, but not quite. The only round in the six previous appearances Kuchar and English have had where they stumbled was the modified alternate shot in 2017, when they shot an even-par 72, then finished tied for 10th.

“It’s the most challenging of all the formats,” Kuchar said. “It’s the one that kind of separates the teams that really have it going and teams that don’t have it going. I think you look forward to seeing what happens after the second round.”

Marc Leishman tees off during the QBE Shootout on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021 at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Fla. Caitlyn Jordan/Naples Daily News/USA Today Network

Leishman and Day do have some experience in these formats. They were partners for three matches in the 2017 Presidents Cup, although they went 0-2-1. They halved with Phil Mickelson and Kevin Kisner in foursomes, and then lost to them in fourball and also lost to Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed in the second foursomes.

“‘Leish’ is good in a team environment,” Day said. “Obviously him and Cammy Smith at the Zurich, obviously here, so it’s just, obviously it’s an individual sport. But I think he thrives really well in a team environment, so it’s nice to be able to have someone like that as a partner this week.”

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RSM Classic: Birthday boy Max Homa, Harris English, Jason Day among the pros to miss cut

The bite returned to Sea Island Resort’s two courses—Seaside and Plantation—on Friday.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — The bite returned to Sea Island Resort’s two courses—Seaside and Plantation—on Friday after a day of record scoring on Thursday. Some players in the 155-man field found it more challenging than others.

South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, for one, didn’t make it to the first tee, withdrawing from the RSM Classic with a back injury. Robert Streb won’t defend his title as he missed making the weekend by a shot.

Those two weren’t the only notable names to be sent home from the final tournament of the fall portion of the 2021-22 PGA Tour season.

Here’s a list of some of the big names who have the weekend off after flaming out with a not-so golden performance on the Golden Isles of South Georgia.

Nike’s limited-edition British Open footwear is inspired by dartboards

The limited-edition Air Max 90 G, Air Zoom Infinity Tour and Air Zoom Victory Tour take their cues from the popular “19th hole” activity.

For the past few seasons, Nike staff players have received special, limited-edition versions of the company’s footwear to use during major championships. These shoes are given themes, often that match the venues where the tournaments are being played. So, while this year’s Masters theme was using recycled materials, during the recent PGA Championship at Kiawah in May, some players’ shoes had a seersucker pattern of light blue and white.

This week, with the British Open taking place at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England, Nike has created three more limited-edition versions of its Air Max 90 G, Air Zoom Infinity Tour and Air Zoom Victory Tour 2 shoes. The theme is games played in pubs, taprooms and the “19th hole” in England. That means darts, pool and snooker. The shoes are below, and as you can see, they are trimmed in cork to commemorate the dartboards and green to represent the felt of a pool table.

Inspired by son Dash’s desire for the game, Jason Day chasing first win in over three years

Jason Day is attempting to rediscover his game while his 9-year-old son Dash is just getting interested in it.

DETROIT – Jason Day wasn’t walking around the grounds of Detroit Golf Club handing out cigars, but he smiled the smile of a proud Papa. He and wife Ellie welcomed their fourth child, a son named Oz, three weeks ago.

It’s a name that pays homage to his Australian roots and also has additional meaning. After all, when your first two boys are named Dash and Arrow, you can’t just name your third son John.

“We couldn’t find a boy’s name. We had a girl’s name,” said Day, who didn’t find out the sex of the baby ahead of time. “It means strength.”

It’s Day’s oldest son, Dash, that has the 33-year-old 12-time PGA Tour winner hanging out at The Barn of late. That’s what he calls his practice facility at home in Galena, Ohio, where he owns just over 11 acres and has three greens to practice from 150 yards-and-in as well as a short-game studio and indoor simulator. Dash, who turns 9 this month, recently signed up to play in PGA Junior League, golf’s version of Little League baseball, and has caught the golf bug.

“I never really wanted to push Dash into golf. I wanted to let him kind of discover it himself,” said Day, who has tried to help him with his swing. “I’m like, ‘Dude, at one time I was the best in the world, listen to me,’ but the way kids work, he’s like, ‘You’re my dad, who cares.’ ”

Jason Day, far right, and his team Kenwal Steel celebrate winning the AREA 313 Celebrity Scramble at the Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Tuesday, June 29, 2021.

Day, who recorded just his second top 10 this year at last week’s Travelers Championship, is attempting to rediscover his game, too, and got off to a flying start at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, posting 5-under 67 to trail newly-minted pro Davis Thompson (63) among the early finishers of the rain-delayed opening round. Day has plummeted to No. 66 in the world entering this week and failed to qualify for the U.S. Open last month, the first time he missed a major since the 2012 British Open. He called it “painful to watch,” all the more so since he hasn’t won a tournament in more than three years. Asked if it felt like a long time since he’s been in the winner’s circle, the former World No. 1 said, “Oh, yeah, it feels like a lifetime ago.”

Day has battled a brittle back, which tightened up on him last week in Hartford, and a loss of confidence, especially with his putter. During his heyday, putting, he said, was the sun in his universe. He recently returned to using the TaylorMade Ghost Spider model that he used in his glory days – except painted white rather than the black one he used to win the 2015 PGA Championship or the red version that he used when he reached No. 1 – and on Thursday, he sank a pair of 36-foot birdie putts at Nos. 2 and 5 and another 20-footer for birdie at 12; on the day, he made putts totaling 120 feet, 5 inches.

“I’m starting to see the ball go in before I hit the putt and when I was putting my best, that’s what I started to see,” he said.

Day also reunited with performance coach Jason Goldsmith, who worked with him when he reached No. 1.

“I was sick of playing poor golf and I knew that he could give me some direction,” he said.

After feeling as if he was lost in golf’s wilderness, Day has new purpose and shot 62 last Friday to hold the 36-hole lead before settling for a T-10 finish.

“I feel a lot more free upstairs,” he said.

Structure to his practice, the return of an old coach and a faithful putter have Day believing that he’s on the verge of getting back to his old winning ways. But the biggest reason for his resurgent play may be Dash.

“For him to be able to play golf has inspired me to kind of work a little bit harder to stay out here a lot longer because if I can do that, hopefully one day we can play in the Father-Son,” Day said of the team tournament where Charlie Woods shined alongside Tiger in December. “That would be awesome. There’s a lot of benefits from me and him playing golf.”

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Jason Day shoots 62 and leads the Travelers Championship

The Travelers Championship is an annual buffet of birdies After two rounds, Jason Day, Bubba Watson and Kramer Hickok have feasted.

CROMWELL, Conn. – Last week at Torrey Pines, carding a birdie was as easy as stealing a steak from a Rottweiler. The lowest score posted at the 2021 U.S. Open was 67, but this week at TPC River Highlands, site of the Travelers Championship, a 67 doesn’t feel special. On Thursday, Kramer Hickok and Satoshi Kodaira shot 63s, Talor Gooch shot 64 and five players shot 65.

The Travelers Championship is an annual buffet of birdies, open to bombers and shorter hitters alike. After two rounds, Jason Day, Bubba Watson and Kramer Hickok have feasted like kings. Through six combined rounds, they have made 33 birdies so far.

Day made eight birdies himself on Friday afternoon and shot a bogey-free 62 that catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard. He will start Saturday’s third round at 9 under, a shot ahead of Watson and Hickok. Seven other players will start the third round two shots back at 7 under.

“I was fortunate enough to not really get in my own way today. I hit a lot of good quality drives and my tee to green was pretty solid, I thought. Then holed a lot of crucial putts out there,” Day said.

At the same time, the 33-year-old Australian’s back has been stiff this week, and he moved gingerly around the course. To compensate for pain when he shifts to the left side, he’s made a minor adjustment.

“I’ve been hitting a lot of flighted shots. You know, sometimes when I get a little bit too far left, everything has to go back and start crunching on the right lower part of my back again,” he explained.

Watson, playing in the morning wave, shot a second 66 of the tournament. He broke his driver on his 11th hole, but still managed to birdie it.

Watson has won this event three times, loves the course and the area.

“My first win (was) here, with my dad watching,” he said. “So many things that happened with my family at this place. This community, it just means so much to us, and so when I get here, I just feel energized. I feel like the people are behind me and they’re pulling for me.”

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Kramer Hickok made nothing but pars on his opening nine, then holed a 23-foot putt for birdie on 10 and another 23-footer on 11 for birdie. He drove the green on the 279-yard, par-4 15th hole, then two-putted for a third birdie to move into the lead at -10. After hitting his tee shot on the par-3 16th long and into the rough, he three-putted for a double-bogey five and dropped from -10 to -8.

Among the other golfers shooting low rounds Friday were Charley Hoffman (63), K.H. Lee (64), Scottie Scheffler, Aaron Wise and Ryan Moore (65).

Many players have said that playing a week after the U.S. Open, handling fatigue and maintaining a good mindset are especially important.

“I think it kind of hit me on Wednesday. I thought I was good Tuesday, and then Wednesday, I remember feeling like, ‘Okay, that did take a lot out of me.’ (I) didn’t really realize it,” said Russell Henley, who was among the leaders heading into Sunday at Torrey Pines and shot 67-66 over the first two days here.

Kevin Kisner struggled at Torrey Pines and missed the cut. Thursday, he made 18 pars at the Travelers Championship, but on Friday made a birdie on the first hole, then made five more birdies and an eagle on the way to a 63.

“I think I probably hit the ball about the same, probably closer on the approach,” Kisner said. “I really didn’t make any putts yesterday. I rolled it nicely so I wasn’t that frustrated, but to see them going in early certainly helped.”

Justin Rose also missed the cut last week at the U.S. Open after shooting 73-77, but after a 1-under 69 Thursday, he shot a 5-under 30 on the front-nine
before making birdies at 10, 11 and 14. The Englishman finished the day with a 63.

“I putted great today. I made a lot of mid- to long-range putts, which obviously got my scorecard lit up,” Rose said. “But (it) probably started before that, just the mindset of not pushing too hard, not going to flags when I didn’t have the right number or kind of hitting driver off holes that I wasn’t front loading the gamble. Just being a bit more patient with my game.”

While some players feasted on birdies Thursday and Friday, it was a famine for others. Among the notable golfers who struggled this week and who failed to make the 36-hole cut Max Homa (69-71, even), Tony Finau (76,67, +3), Rickie Fowler (69, 75, +4) and Matthew Wolff (76,69, +5).

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Rusty Brooks Koepka, struggling Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler lead the missed cut brigade at AT&T Byron Nelson

Brooks Koepka lead the notables that have the weekend off after missing the cut at the AT&T Byron Nelson near Dallas.

Brooks Koepka’s return to action this week at the AT&T Byron Nelson turned out to be a short visit to ‘Big D.’ The four-time major champion shot 71-70—141 at TPC Craig Ranch and missed the cut. It took 6-under 138 or better to play the weekend.

Koepka had some good company. Spain’s Sergio Garcia was among the first-round leaders but struggled to a 75 on Friday. Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick also can head to Kiawah Island, South Carolina, site of next week’s PGA Championship, early after snapping a streak of playing seven straight weekends.

The cutline moved late in the day and sent Rickie Fowler, Jason Day and Luke Donald packing. Cameron Champ birdied the last hole to make it on the number along with Masters champ Hideki Matsuyama and Masters runner-up Will Zalatoris. Sam Burns (-17) is setting the pace for the 70 golfers who will compete on the weekend for the trophy.

Jason Day, dealing with crisis of confidence, says he’ll skip U.S. Open qualifier for corporate day

The former World No. 1’s five-year U.S. Open exemption from winning the 2015 PGA Championship has run out.

Jason Day finds himself in an unfamiliar position.

The former World No. 1’s five-year U.S. Open exemption from winning the 2015 PGA Championship has run out and he’s slipped to No. 62 in the Official World Golf Ranking, which means he’s running out of time to climb inside the top 60 and receive an automatic invite.

Otherwise, he’ll have to join the great unwashed at one of several 36-hole sectional qualifying sites across the country. Except Day told members of the press via a pre-tournament Teams conference call ahead of the AT&T Byron Nelson that he wouldn’t attempt to qualify because of – wait for it – a previously scheduled commitment with NetJets.

“To be honest, if I don’t get in I’m not qualifying. I’ve got a scheduled event for NetJets that I’ve got on Monday after the Memorial, so I’m planning on doing that instead of going to qualify,” he explained. “I got to do it the other way around, which I got to play well or win a tournament in the next two weeks.”

It wasn’t that long ago that Day was one of the favorites to win the U.S. Open, and this year’s venue, Torrey Pines, is the site of two of his PGA Tour victories at the annual Farmers Insurance Open. Day, who outdueled Jordan Spieth at Whistling Straits for his lone major, sounded like a man who no longer was obsessed with winning the big ones. (Clearly, he scheduled the corporate day assuming he would be exempt, but one would think he’d try to re-schedule it to give himself one last chance at earning a spot at Torrey, no?)

AT&T Byron Nelson: Tee times, TV info | Matchups, prop bets

When Day was asked to clarify if the majors were still important to him, he said, “I just feel like if I do it that way that in my mind my mindset will say, ‘Okay, it’s fine. You can just go qualify next year,’ and I’ll get used to qualifying instead of going, ‘No, I’m not going to qualify. I got to earn my way into that spot.’ ”

He continued: “It’s just that in my mind I’ve got to earn it. It’s like I never wanted to go and play Augusta before earning a spot there. I had plenty of opportunities, but I never wanted to go and play Augusta until I earned my spot, and I ended up earning it back in 2011.”

So, the pressure is on Day to perform and, so far this season, that hasn’t been a good thing for the 33-year-old Australian, who’s in the midst of a crisis of confidence.

“When you have no confidence in your game it’s just really difficult to even think about winning,” Day said.

He explained that at the start of the year his game felt lost. He’s battled a myriad of injuries and began working with instructor Chris Como to make swing changes to prevent injuries and hopefully extend his playing career.

“I was trying to change my swing and putting hadn’t been the same and I got too technical with the putting,” he said. “It’s crazy because I feel like in my good putting days I was the best putter in the world. For me, putting was the middle of my universe, the sun for me. To be able to not have that killed a lot of my confidence.”

As his world ranking plummeted, Day said he had trouble sleeping and stressed over his lackluster results.

“My big thing was I can’t fall outside of top 50. I can’t do that. If it’s not enjoyable for me, I may as well retire. I can’t play the way that I’m doing and beat my head against a wall essentially. But, then on the other hand I’m like, ‘No, you can’t quit. You got to keep pushing, stay persistent, stay positive, patient, keep moving forward, and it’ll come back.’ So right now I’m trying to do that.”

As if Day doesn’t have enough to stress about, he and wife Ellie are about to become parents for a fourth time. He knows he could get a call any day now and no matter how he’s doing in a tournament he will withdraw and head home to witness the birth.

“She’s full term on Friday, so, yeah, I’m on call waiting for her to – we have people staying with her obviously because she is not looking after three kids by herself, so we want to make sure that – I want to make sure that I can get back. That’s the biggest thing,” he said. “It might be a good little time away if the baby does come early or if the baby comes on time, you know, that I get to spend at home with Ellie and the newborn and obviously the family.”

Until then, Day said he’s begun to see some positives. He enters the Byron Nelson having missed the cut at his two previous starts, but he’s reunited with performance coach Jason Goldsmith, who previously worked with Day during his peak years, and he’s pushing on in his quest to qualify for the U.S. Open.

“Majors are very, very important,” he said. “They’re more important when I feel like my game is in a position to win. Right now I’m like feel like my game is in position to win if I get lucky. But that’s kind of before last week. What I’ve worked on this week, I don’t know how I’m going to play this week, but for the first time in a long time I feel really good about where my game is at.”

Confidence is knowing your best golf is still to come.

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Masters: Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy among those to miss the cut

Brooks Koepka and defending champion Dustin Johnson were among the biggest stars who missed the cut at the 85th Masters.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson were among the biggest stars who missed the cut at the 85^th playing of the Masters.

The 36-hole cut – only the top 50 and ties moved on – came at 3 over. That number also sent home Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Cantlay and 31 others from the field of 88.

Among those not heading home is Bryson DeChambeau, who rebounded from a 76 on Thursday to post a 67 on Friday. Also playing the weekend: Phil Mickelson, who made the cut on the number.

But many other big stars weren’t so lucky.

Here’s a closer look at some notables not playing this weekend.

Jason Day almost quit golf two days before the 2011 Masters. Then he nearly won it.

Imagine a 23-year-old just hours from his first start at the Augusta National Golf Club, every kid’s dream, and thinking about withdrawing.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Ten years ago this week, on the eve of the 2011 Masters, Jason Day almost quit golf.

Imagine that, if you will. A 23-year-old just hours from his first start at the Augusta National Golf Club, every kid’s dream, and thinking about withdrawing.

He was that discouraged, after a handful of poor tournament finishes.

Day’s inner circle that included former caddie Col Swatton and his wife Ellie talked him out of it. He shot 72 in the first round, then went deep on Friday with a 64, beating playing partners Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler by five shots.

After another 72 in the third round and an even-par first nine on Sunday, Day birdied Nos. 12, 13, 17 and 18 to post a 12-under-par 276, a record for Masters rookies and good enough for the clubhouse lead with Australian countryman Adam Scott.

Masters: Odds, predictions | Fantasy picks | Photos

Unfortunately, Charl Schwartzel birdied the last four holes to lap everyone, so Day finished two shots back. But he still has fond memories of a week that almost didn’t happen.

“It was nice to be able to turn around and shoot 64 on Friday and think that I was going to quit the game of golf on Wednesday,” Day said on Monday at Augusta National, after a practice round for his 10th Masters start. “It was such a big difference between where I was and where I ended up being for that week.”

It took Day nearly three years to win his second PGA Tour title but it was a thrilling 23-hole final against Victor Dubuisson in the Match Play.

Then, another year later, he launched one of the best periods of extended play in recent years on the PGA Tour with eight victories in 27 months, including the 2015 PGA at Whistling Straits, two FedEx playoffs, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a second Match Play crown and then a dominant performance in winning wire-to-wire at the 2016 Players Championship.

He was No. 1 on the World ranking and the sky was seemingly the limit.

Day has leveled off since then and has won only twice since his Players title, both in 2018, to give him 12 titles for his career.

He has gone nearly another two years without a victory but said his body (which has often failed him, through a series of back injuries) and mind are in a good place.

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So good, that he said he has set his sights on getting to the No. 1 spot in the world again (he’s 48th this week) and staying there.

“My goal is to get back to No. 1 in the world, and I know that I’ll definitely do a lot of things differently just because I’ve been in that position beforehand,” he said. “If I get back there … hopefully I can actually extend and have longevity at No. 1 like a Dustin [Johnson] or [Greg] Norman, Tiger [Woods], something like that.”

Day said he has matured at the age of 33 and it’s obvious a few questionable performances don’t cause him to think about giving up the game he loves — as it almost did in 2011.

He said he’s not nearly as impulsive and doesn’t focus on results so much that it consumes him.

“To be driven by results to make you happy, that’s very temporary, and your emotions go up and down,” he said. “To the point where you’re always constantly thinking about it.”

Day has posted a pair of good performances in recent months, a tie for seventh at Pebble Beach and a tie for 18th at the WGC event in Bradenton.

He missed the cut at the November Masters last year but tied for fifth in 2019, with 67s in the second and fourth rounds. It was his fourth career top-10 at Augusta.

Day was asked if he felt as if he were “playing under the radar” this week.

“I feel like the game is kind of shaping up in a nice way,” he said. “Playing under the radar is nice sometimes. I’d much rather be in the spotlight because you’re playing good, but right now I’ve been here since last Friday, so I’ve had a lot of practice getting in under the belt and I’m looking forward to the week starting.”

As far as his body goes, Day said he’s in the best shape of his life, after 16 back MRIs since turning pro.

He’s emphasizing the mental part of his game, rather than the physical. Day said he knows how to work smarter, not necessarily longer — although he has been on the property since Friday.

“I’ve just got to do things differently now,” he said. “I’m not 21 anymore. I’ve just got to … prepare a little bit differently. I think it has to be more on the mental side now than anything else. I’m doing a lot more visualization off the golf course than I’ve ever had in previous years, just due to the fact that the mind is probably the strongest thing that you’ll have out on the golf course, and if I can’t put in the work as much as I used to, then I’ll have to do it off the golf course and with my mental game.”

Day said the course is more to his liking in returning to April.

“Obviously last November it was really soft,” he said. “If you’ve walked the golf course, it’s playing a lot firmer, which is great. I think that’s the best thing that we could possibly have is a firm golf course.”

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