On the basis that Jason Day has never shied away from anything in his professional life it is hardly a surprise to hear the Australian say he will relish the attention surrounding him at the Masters. And yet Day's approach is not a common one; golfers routinely speak of how beneficial being under the radar can be.
His attitude will stand him in good stead because his success at the WGC Match Play Championship on Sunday meant back-to-back victories and, more pertinently with the first major of the year in close view, the guarantee of being world No1 when arriving at Augusta National.
In what perhaps serves as a lesson to others, Day will cherish this time. As Louis Oosthuizen, whom Day defeated in the final at the Austin Country Club on Sunday, put it: "Jason is definitely a few steps ahead of everyone at the moment."
Statistics back that up, given Day has won six times in 13 starts. “I’m looking forward to it. The Masters is the one tournament that I have always wanted to win,” Day said. “I have wanted to put that [green]jacket on and go back every year. So the motivation and the want? There is no problem. The biggest thing for me is rest and recovery between now and then.
“I can’t get lazy, I can’t get comfortable with how I am playing because I have to understand that what I’m doing is working. I have got to keep working on the things that have caused me to win over the last two weeks, stay focused and hopefully put on that Green Jacket. It is going to be tough. But it is great to be going there as world No1 and that’s something I’ll definitely be embracing. It will be fun to walk through the gates as No1 in the world.”
And walk he most likely will. Day, as is routine for him at other tournaments, will take his mobile home to Georgia with family in tow, parking up just a short distance from one of the most iconic venues in golf.
The 28-year-old's desire to claim the Masters has cost him in the past. It verged on obsession at times, a matter offset significantly by his victory in the US PGA Championship last August when he held off Jordan Spieth, the Masters champion, to win his first major.
“I’ve got to understand there is going to be a lot of hype,” he said. “There is going to be a lot of hype around Jordan Spieth, there is going to be a lot of hype around Rory McIlroy because he could finish the career grand slam. Then there’s going to be a lot of hype around me as No1. Embrace it. Understand there is going to be some hype there.
“I know the feeling of trying too hard. I’ve done it the last couple of years on that golf course and I really want to get back to good form there.
“It has been a fantastic journey up until now. The mental hurdle I had to jump over to get that major, knowing what it feels like to win one with a lot of people watching you and expecting you to play well; that is probably the most significant thing. The way I think now is totally different from how I thought at Augusta a year ago. I think the mind-set will be different this time.”
Day also paid tribute to the influence of his fellow countryman Adam Scott, a former Masters champion and a winner on the PGA Tour this season. "Watching Scotty play the way he did in 2013, getting to No1, was a big inspiration to me," Day said. "Watching him win got me working harder.
“Once you see an Aussie do it, then you want to do it and then it’s kind of like a chain reaction.”
(Guardian service)
