Day wants to be No. 1 after World Cup win
Australian star targets home Open glory after jumping to 11 in world rankings
Australian Jason Day is so confident after winning the World Cup that he has his sights set on becoming world number one.
Day’s two- shot victory in the individual event at Royal Melbourne on Sunday, which helped Australia win the World Cup team title for the first time in 24 years, saw him jump to 11 in the world rankings.
It was his first title in three years and, with his next tournament being the Australian Open this week in Sydney, the Ohio- based player said the sky was the limit.
“It was surprising to jump from 18 to 11 and, if I have a good week this week, I can move inside the top 10, but being No. 1 in the world has always been a goal of mine since back to when I first picked up a golf club,” he said yesterday.
“I’ve always wanted to get to that No. 1 spot and my caddy and I always had a goal to get to No. 1 when we first met when I was about 12 or 13 to get there when I was 22. I ended up getting to No. 7 when I was aged 23, so we fell short, but it’s still on my mind to get to that No. 1 spot.”
It is a tough task for Day, who will not only have to pass the likes of Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott, but also Tiger Woods.
“There is a lot of tough competitors I still have to get past, including Tiger Woods, but if I keep working hard and putting the dedication into my game I think the sky is the limit, as long as I stay hungry to want to get that No. 1 spot,” he said.
Professional win
“The biggest thing is to actually want it because, you can say it as much as you like but, until you say you want it, then that’s it.”
While Day has been a regular contender in the Majors in recent years, Sunday’s victory was his first professional win in Australia and only his second success since breaking through in 2010 to capture the PGA Tour’s Byron Nelson Colonial.
Despite a break of more than three years between victories, Day is confident the experience he gleaned at Royal Melbourne can prove pivotal in future success. “It’s been a long time since my first to my second professional win and, while I have been a very consistent player over the last couple of years, but I just have not been over the line,” he said.
“So it’s been more of a learning curve as that first win can be more like a fluke and, even though I played well at the Byron Nelson, I felt like I learnt so much more last week winning in Melbourne.”