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ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS

May 2, 2016

Jason Day

Avondale, Louisiana

Q. Looks like obviously you're going to be a little short, but played awfully well in this third round.
JASON DAY: Yeah, I just wish it was 72 holes. I'd stay here until the weekend if we could play 72 holes. But coming down the stretch, I hit it good. I gave myself opportunities on the greens, and unfortunately just didn't capitalize. But yeah, that just shows that I need to work a little harder on the greens and hopefully they fall next time.

Q. Talk about being one of Zurich's ambassadors. How important is it for you to be a part of this event?
JASON DAY: Yeah, as the No. 1 player in the world, it's nice to be able to come here as the No. 1 player in the world and hopefully help the tournament out with the fans and especially the sponsor, Zurich, who's been a major sponsor in golf for a very long time. We need their support for the TOUR, and it's great to be here in New Orleans. I've had a fun time even though we've had to stop and start this week, but definitely looking forward to coming back in the future.

Q. See you in a couple weeks at THE PLAYERS?
JASON DAY: Yeah, definitely. Week off this week, and then PLAYERS. So yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Should be a lot of fun. Just get some rest this week, prep for PLAYERS and hopefully try and win that one.

Q. You posted 13-under. How would you assess your week here at the Zurich?
JASON DAY: I mean, it was a good, solid week. I had a good solid three days to be honest. Yeah, I mean, the weather is what it is. We can't control the weather. I wish it was 72 holes. At least I gave myself an opportunity to be around the leaders. If there was a 72-hole event -- but the course conditions out there are very, very wet. They're playing pretty -- I wouldn't say easy, but they're very gettable. You can be aggressive and attack pins, and they're going to stick with 4s and 3-irons, and you know that they're not going to go over the back of the greens when they bounce. But today I finished off my third round, gave myself a lot of opportunities on the greens coming home, and just didn't get it done. So I've just got to work harder on the greens and hopefully it happens the next time I'm in that position.

Q. You said you made some tweaks to your game. What type of results did you see from a big-picture standpoint?
JASON DAY: I drove it and hit a lot of good iron shots into the greens. That was the biggest thing for me. I wasn't happy with how I was hitting it, obviously, at Heritage. I felt like I was losing a lot to the right, and I found out that my alignment was a little bit off. My club face at address was too far open, causing me to get a little bit underneath and hit it out to the right. So I just kind of squared everything up, neutraled everything out, and I played good this week. So I'm very pleased with how all the tweaks went the week before this week, and I'll try and work hard later on this week and get it to the THE PLAYERS.

Q. You're a guy that can reel off wins in bunches, four of six starts last year, you had two in a row before the Masters. How close is your game to hitting that type of trajectory now?
JASON DAY: I'd like to say right now, but to be honest, I'm just trying to work as hard as I can. I think this is a good start. Finishing tied for 23rd at Heritage was obviously disappointing. I had a good opportunity to win there and had a bad third round. I've said enough of that. I went home and worked very, very hard for this week and fell short again, but it's all looking positive. I've just got to keep working hard, stick to the process, and same old boring stuff that comes out of my mouth every single week. But it's very clichÃ©, but it is very true. I'm just trying to get better each and every week. That's how I have to deal with being the best player in the world right now.

Q. And finally before THE PLAYERS as far as this next week off?
JASON DAY: Well, this week has been a bit mentally draining just sitting around the clubhouse. It's amazing just sitting around makes you tired for some reason, so I'll take a couple of days off and then get back into practice. As long as the weather cooperates up in Ohio, I'll get back and practice as hard as I can. I need to work. I really need to work. I need to make sure that I'm prepped and ready coming into THE PLAYERS because I need to stay sharp. I need to hit drivers and irons like I did this week and improve the short game, and if I can do that, I definitely feel like I have a shot at winning that tournament.

Q. 66; do you think about how close it could have been to maybe 63, 64?
JASON DAY: Yeah. I mean, I played good golf all week pretty much. Yeah, I mean, I can't complain about anything, but obviously -- well, the weather. The weather was a little stop and start for us, which was unfortunate this week. It's been an amazing week. Usually when it's nice weather, the fans actually come out and watch this tournament, and they support it in a big way.

You know, later on my round today in the third round, I gave myself opportunities at really shooting a low score, and unfortunately just didn't capitalize on those opportunities. It just tells me I need to work harder on my putting, and hopefully it doesn't happen to me next week.

Q. You finished yesterday with four birdies in six holes. Talk about the evening and how that maybe stopped your momentum a little bit. Was it hard to get going today?
JASON DAY: Well, not really. I mean, the conditions are playing very -- I shouldn't say easy, but they're playing very gettable. You can attack pin locations with long irons, and if you're -- the greens on the backside are really pure. They're rolling very nicely. So if you're hitting the green and getting close and you're putting decent, you can get a low number.

It does stop a little bit of momentum, especially coming off a long putt on 8 and then the horn blows and I have to start on bloody 9. 9 is a tough tee shot as it is. But once again, I'm very happy with the tweaks I made prior to this week, and it seems like it's trending in the right direction for THE PLAYERS coming up.

Q. I know weather has been an issue with the tournament the last couple years. It doesn't deter you at all from coming back to New Orleans and playing well?
JASON DAY: I typically play well here, so as long as I keep playing well here, I'm obviously going to keep coming back. I want to come back in the future because I believe I can win around this course, and I believe I can win this tournament. Zurich is such a big part of the TOUR and they've supported the TOUR for a very long time now. You know, we need sponsors like this. The course setup, I think if it plays firmer and faster, obviously the course conditions are a little bit tougher, but hopefully next year we'll have better conditions.

Q. What is it about this tournament that keeps you coming back and helps you kind of prepare for the rest of the season?
JASON DAY: Well, I mean, the people that run the tournament, the people, the volunteers, hats off to the volunteers this week. It's just been such a long week and they've stuck it out all the way through the whole week until Monday now. These guys don't -- they don't get paid. They're here because they love golf and they love the game, and they enjoy watching PGA TOUR golf. So hats off to the greens staff and the staff at the TPC Louisiana Golf Club. They've been dealing with us PGA pros for a while now. It's just all of that combined definitely helps a lot of players coming back because the hospitality is unreal here. The golf course is a nice course that you can get things going but also offers a lot of difficulty with strategic course management from tee to green. With that said, it's a fun week. I enjoy coming to courses like this.

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