Day confident he can return to top
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jason Day’s swagger and motivation have returned.
“I’m hungry again and I’m looking forward to trying to beat these guys,” Day said Wednesday on the eve of the 99th PGA Championship.
Day is in the midst of what he called a “very poor season,” with only two top-10 finishes and no wins in 15 starts. But the Westerville resident and former world No. 1 feels like he is about to turn the corner after finishing tied for 24th last week at the Bridgestone Invitational.
He also is drawing confidence from his past success at the PGA Championship, where he won at Whistling Straits in 2015 and finished second last year to Jimmy Walker at Baltusrol.
His renewed confidence may not be good news for the rest of the field this week. Jordan Spieth is aiming for a career grand slam.
“I’m motivated now,” said Day, whose best finish this year is second at the AT&T Byron Nelson, where he lost a playoff to Billy Horschel.
Day entered the season as the top-ranked player but has since dropped to No. 7, a fall that he said “annoys and motivates me at the same time.”
He made it clear his goal is to get back on top and anticipates that will start with a strong performance this week at Quail Hollow.
The 29-year-old Australian said his passion waned late last season after getting “burned out.” Looking back, Day felt like he spread himself too thin trying to fulfill obligations and spending less time practicing and relaxing.
“I was trying to do too many things,” he said.
By the time the end of last year rolled around, Day said he was exhausted after spending nearly a full year as the top-ranked player.
That pressure, along with a lung cancer surgery his mother had to endure in March, led to a rough start to the 2017 season. He tearfully pulled out of the Match Play Championship six holes in, too distraught to play, to join her ahead of the surgery.
“It was difficult for me to be on the golf course and even think about actually playing at the time,” Day said.
On the course, his driving deteriorated and his normally reliable short game eluded him. In short, he felt like his game had plateaued.
“You’re not panicking or anything, you’re just wondering why,” Day said. “You’re up at night thinking about, ‘OK, what do I need to do to get back to that winning room?’ ”
If Day does get back to No. 1, he has vowed to handle things differently. In some ways, he already has.
He didn’t arrive in Charlotte until Tuesday — checking in to the tournament on Wednesday morning — so he could spend more time at home away from distractions.
Despite the fact that he has finished out of contention at the Masters (tied for 22nd), the U.S. Open (cut) and the British Open (tied for 27th), Day refuses to call this a lost season. He believes his putting and driving are coming back, and he harkens to 2014 when he finished the year strong, which served as a springboard for two incredible seasons.
“I want to win again,” Day said. “I’m excited about that.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Matt Kuchar is ready to lose that pesky label.
Arguably golf’s best player without a major title gets another chance to shed that distinction this week at the PGA Championship — three weeks after coming tantalizingly close at the British Open, where he was overtaken by Jordan Spieth’s late surge.
“There’s not much you can do when Jordan finishes the way he did,” Kuchar said on Wednesday. “You tip your hat to a guy who performs like that and say, ‘Well done.’ The thing is, there will be more chances, and I’ll certainly keep plugging along.”
Playing each of the last two tournaments helped. The relatively quick turnaround to the season’s final major helps even more.
“The great thing about the game of golf is, once you tee it up Thursday of the next week, nobody cares what you did the previous week — everybody starts from even par, and you have to go out and perform right then and there,” Kuchar said. “And I think that’s good therapy.”
That first title was in his grasp at Royal Birkdale, where he went to the 14th tee during the final round with a one-stroke lead. He had two birdies and two pars over the next four holes and found himself two strokes back going to No. 18.
“I came so close, and it was tough to get so close to realizing a dream and to not come through and not realize the dream, but I think a few things helped,” Kuchar said, alluding to supportive text messages. “I think that was a healthy thing. Just a whole lot of positivity coming out of that.”
Closing on a Slam
Jimmy Walker
Today and Friday, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., TNT; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., TNT; 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., CBS (Ch. 10). Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., TNT; 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., CBS (Ch. 10). has won the British Open to get within one leg of the career Grand Slam — Phil Mickelson lacks the U.S. Open, Rory McIlroy needs the Masters and Jordan Spieth is missing the PGA Championship.
There could be more “slam” candidates after this week. A victory in the PGA Championship would give Zach Johnson (Masters, British Open) and Ernie Els (U.S. Open, British Open) the third leg.