DAY HAPPY WITH START
Ex-No. 1 last won at 2016 Players
Jason Day is Jason Day again.
Despite a spotty finish in which he bogeyed three of his last four holes, the world No. 3 took a step forward in defense of his title Thursday and signed for a 2-under-par 70 in the first round of The Players Championship at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. He is three shots behind pace-setters William McGirt and Mackenzie Hughes.
“I’m excited about where the state of the game is,” Day said. “Obviously, there’s some positive stuff. It’s easy to get yourself out of position here, but for the most part I actually played some solid golf.”
He hasn’t said that very often since winning last year’s Players. A bad back got the best of him. The pressure of being No. 1 in the world took a toll on him. And his mother’s battle against lung cancer — she had successful surgery in March and is recovering nicely — rattled him.
Entering the Players having played just seven events this year, Day hasn’t been able to establish rhythm. But with his mom back at work, Day has put in a lot of hours in the gym and on the range to get back his best form.
He has played so little — with little to brag about — that he said he felt weird seeing his name at the top of the leaderboard during the opening round, which was played under sunny skies and temperatures in the 90s.
His name was atop the leaderboard as he made five birdies in his first 11 holes (he started on the 10th).
“I was thinking actually 7, 8 under after the second hole, and I did give myself the opportunities coming in,” said Day, who is trying to become the first back-to-back winner in tournament history. “Unfortunately, had a couple of mistakes. But that’s golf, and hopefully I don’t make those mistakes over the next three days and actually capitalize on the opportunities that I give myself.”
His mistakes came when he missed the green on holes 6, 8 and 9 and failed to get up-anddown for par. But Day left thinking more about the good stuff he produced than the bad stuff that hurt him.
“I hit a lot of fairways today, which was good. Starting to hit it a lot closer, and I felt good that the irons are starting to come,” he said. “And then obviously the putting was the only lag there on the back side, which is the front side, I just really didn’t capitalize on the stuff I usually make.”
Last year, Day finished at 15under 273. He thinks 12-under 276 is the number that could get the hardware this weekend.
The course “is only going to get firmer and faster,” he said. “Twelve-under usually wins around here, so I’ve just got to try and reach that number, and if I can reach that number, great.”