Tired Day still sharp enough to cut it
ASHTON HUDSON WORLD No.1 Jason Day has overcame a wayward driver to be in good shape after the opening round of his title defence at The Barclays, the first of four US PGA Tour Playoff events.
Day shot a three-under-68 at Bethpage Black to sit only two shots off the lead and in a tie for seventh.
Already leading the seasonlong FedExCup race, Day is looking to become the first Australian in the 10-year history of the playoffs to win it all at next month’s Tour Championship, including the $US10 million bonus.
In what has been a worrying trend this season, Day hit just five of 14 fairways in his round but once again rode his magnificent short game to four birdies and a lone bogey.
Having not played for three weeks since the US PGA Championship where he finished second, Day was blowing out some cobwebs.
“It was just a little bit I think more so rust, a bit of mental rust than physical rust,” he said.
“I shouldn’t say rust. It’s more the sharpness wasn’t quite there compared to when you’re about two or three tournaments in.
“I’m a lot more tired than I expected. When you’re just practising and going to the gym, you don’t really walk around a lot, and then you come back to a behemoth golf course in Bethpage. Yeah, I’m just a little bit tired.
“And obviously if you’re tired, that can kind of creep into your mental game, as well.
“So I’m just trying to stay on top of it and make sure that I don’t make too many silly errors.”
Adam Scott, who sits third in the points race, also started strongly with a solid 69 to be three off the lead and tied 11th.
His putter ran cold but the Queenslander remains upbeat.
“I played very well today with some good solid stuff,” Scott said. “I could have made a few more birdies but I hit good putts and that was the main thing for me today.”
American Patrick Reed and Scotland’s Martin Laird lead the way after rounds of fiveunder 66.
Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo and Americans Rickie Fowler, JB Holmes and Kevin Chappell share second at four under.
John Senden, who faces elimination from the playoffs if he doesn’t perform well, made the first step towards survival with a round of 70.