A popular addition to the field at the recent Australian PGA Championship, Jason Day performed strongly, finished in the top 10 and was well received by the crowds.
Following his first tournament appearance on home soil after an absence of seven years, Day spoke to Inside Golf’s US correspondent Garrett Johnston upon his return to the US, expressing a desire to return home in the near future, about his family and his five children and of his chances of challenging for a green jacket at the Masters in April.
Local crowds warmed to Jason Day in his first tournament appearance on home soil in seven years.
How was the trip to Queensland for you? How did you enjoy being back?
I’m good, I’m still jet lagged unfortunately, which is kind of crazy to think. Typically, I deal with jetlag pretty well, but this time around it kind of kicked my butt.
It was so nice to be able to get down to Australia again for the event. It had been a long time since I had been back there. It’s hard to believe it’s been seven years since I was last down there, and then on top of that 2011 or 2012 was the last time I was back in Brisbane playing a tournament. So it was nice to feel welcomed back home. The crowds were just great to be around and very supportive. The golf course was a lot of fun to play and a good challenge.
We had probably 350 ml, 14 inches or so of rain in only four to five days during that week which was really crazy. I thought overall the golf course held up nicely and drained well. In the end it was unfortunate that we only played 54 holes, but we ended up getting the tournament in. I played decently, but I just didn’t have my very best stuff. I had about three and a half months off so it was kind of nice to be able to come back and finish that well. I just wish I was a little bit sharper.
Did you get out to any other courses while you were there, and did the family go with you?
No. I found out that I was going to play in Tiger’s event in the Bahamas while I was in Australia, so unfortunately the trip kind of shortened while I was there. I was going to be in the country for a few more days. I didn’t end up taking my family out. I was originally planning on taking them with me, but I only ended up being out there for eight days. I ended up treating it like a normal tournament and I literally flew out the Sunday night of the event. I was at the airport at 8pm that night, flying back to Ohio.
When would you hope to get back to Australia and have the family come for the first time?
(Son) Dash has not been there before and the other kids either. I was trying to get Dash to come down with me, but mom put a complete nix on that. She was like, “you don’t even know when to feed him.” I was “yeah, that’s probably true”, (laughs) so I’m hoping, fingers crossed, that next year would be great and when I get some time off in the fall next year, if I could get the whole family down there. If not, another time we will try to make it happen.
That leads to a question, when have you felt most fulfilled in your life?
Well, it definitely wasn’t when I was world number one. And I mean yeah, it really wasn’t at all. I seriously thought that getting to world number one would make me feel more fulfilled, but it’s funny, the more and more time I spend away from my family, the more kids that I add to my family, the more that happens. I just feel more fulfilled when I have more time with my kids after time away from them.
A lot of times I want to get back to my family, so as the years have progressed, I’ve definitely enjoyed having more kids and more time at home.
Greg Chalmers mentioned to me that the feeling of winning can be a lonely feeling, because you’re at the course and everyone’s left.
Yes, and being on the road can be lonely because you’re in hotel rooms by yourself. So, you can definitely win and not have that support system around you, and it’s really difficult. Fortunately enough for me I’m able to bring my family out with me on the road. We homeschool and travel around on a bus, so we’re a tight-knit family. We’re like a little tribe that goes around everywhere.
What do you do really well at Augusta, based on your strong record there, and what do you need to do to get in the mix this year?
Typically, in the past when I’ve played really well there, my iron play and overall approach to the green stats have been really good. So to play well there this year, I need to have those dialed in. It’s so important to know where you can and where you can’t miss the greens at Augusta. You may miss one green, but depending on the hole, it’s not worth stressing out over it because you know it’s a doable up and down. Once you know your misses and you’re striking the ball well coming into the greens, that definitely takes a lot of pressure off not only the short game side of things, but you also know in your mind that you’re going to keep giving yourself opportunities. That’s important at Augusta. You don’t really have to do anything too crazy, you don’t have to take on the corners, you can hit to the centre of the greens. Obviously, you will have a longer iron shot coming into the greens if you don’t take on too much of the corners off the tee, but that’s ok. You can be conservatively aggressive around that place. But if you have a good short game, it definitely helps to alleviate some of the stress when you do miss a green.
How much would you relish the chance to win the green jacket?
It’s something that I’ve dreamed about my whole life. And I try not to think about it too much because I tend to psych myself out a little bit. But just thinking about it now makes me look forward to the moment of being able to have that opportunity at Augusta again. It’s just amazing.
Are you comfortable on property at Augusta National now?
Yeah. I feel comfortable and familiar with the place. I’ve been going there for so long that I know the course pretty well and I know exactly where to hit it and where not to hit it. Although sometimes I struggle with controlling the ball to get into that ideal position, I just thoroughly enjoy the week, it’s such a unique and cool place to be able to be a part of. Not only being a professional there, but also being part of the history of playing that event.
How are you feeling with the amount you’re able to practice with your body at this point?
Overall, I feel good. I’m able to put in the time I need. I think every now and again you just get little injuries that pop up, actually more like flare-ups you would say. But honestly, knock on wood, the whole year’s been really great for me in 2024. I haven’t really had any problems to complain about, which has been fantastic and encouraging for me. That means that the stuff that I’m working technically and the stuff that I’m working on with my body is going in the correct direction. I’m excited about that. I’ve just got to stay patient, stay the course and then see how it goes. But my body feels good at the moment.
