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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE

May 31, 2016

Jason Day

Dublin, Ohio

THE MODERATOR: All right. Jason Day, thanks for joining us in the interview room at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. You come in here as the World No. 1 and No. 1 in the FedExCup standings, and coming off THE PLAYERS with your last event. It's been a week since then.

Give us a quick overview of how your couple of weeks has been, and coming in here is kind of a home game for you, this week at the Memorial Tournament.

JASON DAY: It's obviously good to sleep in your own bed at night, but I pretty much do that every week with traveling on the bus.

Yeah, I had two weeks off, which was fantastic. I needed the two weeks off. PLAYERS is a very stressful week, trying to play that golf course. Everyone knew how the weekend went. It was even more stressful at times.

I took, I think, three days off. I actually took two days off, Monday and Tuesday, after THE PLAYERS, but then got back into training again, got back into the gym and started training again. That Thursday after THE PLAYERS started practicing again and getting into it again.

I know this has been a tough tournament for me. I think my best finish is tied for 27th or something like that, which is horrific, and it's my home course. So that makes it even worse.

But I'm looking to change that this week. I feel good about my game, and I feel good about the preparation going into this week. Coming off the past results of how I've played this year, coming in with a little bit of confidence, which is nice, but still looking forward to a nice competitive week.

THE MODERATOR: Just before we take some questions, obviously, the last couple of weeks have been interesting for the golf world, seeing Rory win in his home country and seeing Jordan win in his home state. Maybe there's a sign here you could win in your hometown. If you could make some comments here, you're obviously one of the players, do you think that's encouraged them or put some pressure for them to step up again?

JASON DAY: I think so. I mean, I extended my lead for a while, and now Jordan and Rory are both closing in on it.

I heard a couple of weeks ago that it bothered Jordan that I was winning tournaments and have the No. 1 spot in the world, and it should. It should bother guys who are competitive and want to stay on top as well. There's nothing wrong with being bothered by that.

I hope it motivates them just as much as it motivates me to see other guys on top of the world and winning tournaments. That's just how some guys are pushed. I know I'm pushed that way as well when I see Rory or Jordan on top of the world. I want to do that as well.

So it's great to see how they've responded so quickly with how Rory played, especially shots on 16 and 18 at the Irish Open, some of the best 3 woods and 5 woods I've seen in a long while. And then Jordan playing so great, the back side of Colonial Country Club, and to be able to finish off with three birdies on the chart and chip on at 17. Just the way he putted, I don't know how many feet, I think it was 150-something feet of putts he holed that day and all of them pretty much on the back side. Just a really quick response time by those guys.

Just goes to show that you just can't live and die by each week. There's some people -- I hate to say it, but some people want to see guys like us fail, and unfortunately, we're not going to be -- we're not going to be on top all the time. We're going to have bad tournaments here and there. It's a lot of pressure to be in this situation we're in, but we wouldn't want it any other way.

The guys that are trying to help grow the game, the younger guys, we're planning on being here for a long time, and that's the plan. Hopefully, we can stay in this position for a long time.

Q. Jason, back to the home game for you. How often do you play here actually, and any explanation for your finishes? I don't know if it's added pressure, anything like that.
JASON DAY: Yeah, I play here maybe -- probably play here once or twice a week, if I'm back home. You've got to understand that, when the tournament's here -- when it's not here, the conditions are softer. The ball's not bouncing as far. Then when we have good conditions -- hoping for no rain this week, which would be nice. Probably highly unlikely. Yeah, when we do have good conditions, the balls are bouncing on the fairways, they're bouncing on the greens, the green speeds are harder, and obviously the tournament itself is such a prestigious event that me being a local guy, having friends and family come in town -- I'm not saying that they're a distraction. It can be a distraction if you let it.

But with that said, I just -- I play myself out of position. I typically play this course when I'm playing in a social round, I play it very aggressive. I'm hitting drivers off most tees or taking lines that you wouldn't take, and then I -- for some reason, I've kind of turned that into the actual tournament, and I'm taking similar lines, and you just can't do that. Yeah, you can get away with it playing social rounds because it just doesn't matter, but when you're playing tournament rounds when they're important and they count the most, I'm taking lines and making mistakes, you know, the same mistakes I would in social rounds, but sometimes you get away with it, sometimes you don't.

So I think this year is more about taking more conservative lines off tees or conservative shots, maybe throttling back a little bit here or there. If I had to give an answer, maybe 11 or 5, the par 5, maybe not trying to cut the corner as much. 11, not hitting driver down there because, if you hit the driver down there, you can go for the green in two, and if you miss it right of the green in tournament conditions, no chance of getting up and down. Rather than hitting an iron off the tee, laying up, and trying to position yourself on the green with a wedge shot where you can have a good chance of making a birdie. Yeah, I think just all of that kind of put together has maybe caused me not to play well.

Once again, I just feel different this year, and I'm hoping for a better result this year.

Q. Real quick, just on the greens, what do they run when you're just out here casually compared to the tournament, would you guess?
JASON DAY: 13, 13 1/2 during the tournament, maybe a little bit more, because I've played years where they've been quicker, and I've played years where they've been slower. 13, 13 1/2, I would think, which is very quick for the amount of pitch we have. It's kind of a subtle pitch, but it's just more of a gradual pitch that we have on these greens.

But during social rounds, they're a good 11 1/2, something like 11, 11 1/2, which is a good speed to them, but that couple extra on the Stimp is -- you definitely have to play a lot more conservative when that happens.

Q. You seem comfortable as No. 1. Is the mindset different climbing the ladder compared to fending guys off now as the king?
JASON DAY: It's definitely -- it's difficult in both regards where you're climbing that mountain for the first time and it's hard to get in that position and give yourself the opportunities to be able to climb that mountain the easiest way. Obviously, when you climb that mountain, you're going to grab onto a rock, and it's going to fall out from underneath you, and you're going to fail sometimes, but that's when you learn the most.

Being on top is just as hard because you have to work harder than what you did climbing that mountain to try and stay on top. Then obviously on top of it, everyone is expecting you each week to compete and play well and win. And sometimes that can be stressful. Fans and media and everything, that goes along with being the best. There's a lot more time that has to be taken.

I think I was out here yesterday -- it was a Monday -- playing a quick nine holes, out here 30, 45 minutes signing autographs. That's not a bad thing. Obviously, if they weren't coming up to me, that would be a bad thing. But it just comes with the territory, and you've just got to understand that now, since I'm the No. 1 player in the world, I have to kind of plan those accordingly into my day.

It is what it is, but once again, it's difficult in both situations, but I'd much rather this situation than obviously having to climb it again because it is tough to get up to the top of the world rankings.

Q. Jason, in your off weeks when you're practicing, how much emphasis do you generally place on your game 100 yards in?
JASON DAY: So if I'm working on my wedges, I try and -- I do more so -- the 100 yards, and then I'll kind of expand that to 150, but it's usually an hour and a half. So if I'm doing, I think, 4 1/2 hours of short game, I add that into it, and that will be on top. So I'll do about three hours of putting and chipping and bunkers and all that stuff and then add another hour and a half of 150 yards and in and then another two hours of hitting after that iron play, you know, woods and drivers.

On any given day, it could be anywhere between 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours, just depending what time I have, what priorities I have that day, alluding back to the balance of everything. This tournament is kind of one thing that you need to have is 150 yards and in because, if you're driving it well, you can definitely give yourself a lot of opportunities out there from 150 and in, and if you can be sharp with those clubs, put yourself in the right position on the greens, you can be very aggressive to hit the putts because. Once again, around here, it's very difficult at times to leave yourself an uphill putt. If you're very confident with it, you can definitely go low.

Q. A quick follow. Can that sometimes be the more tedious part of your practice because you can go off on the driving range and feel good about how far you're hitting it, where that seems like the more --
JASON DAY: Yeah, I mean, it's one of those things that you want to try and improve each and every time you practice it. I enjoy hitting drivers because I can just get out there and hit it as hard as I can, and you're on the driving range, it's going to go semi-straight. But like when you're trying to work on 150 yards and in, sometimes I'm walking off the range, kind of pulling my hair out, because I just had a bad practice session.

Some days I'm walking off the practice range feeling like, yeah, I'm the best player in the world. It's very hard. But the hard thing about trying to improve something like that, when it is one of your weaknesses, is to actually get up and do it because it really sucks trying to work on a weakness at the start. But as you slowly do it over time, it gets better and better and better and then becomes a lot more exciting that way.

Q. You talked a lot at THE PLAYERS about the level of want coming into tournaments. I'm just curious, when you've got some tournaments this year that you want to win maybe more than others, how you balance that, and if you ever find yourself coming into a tournament trying to convince yourself that you want it as badly as you do.
JASON DAY: There's been plenty of times where you just -- I don't know. I don't know if it's -- I don't know if you're just a little bit more distracted, more so. Every tournament that I play in, I want to win, but sometimes I just come in a little bit more distracted. Certain things are happening off course that I'm just like thinking about that are just distracting me from trying to compete and play well.

But I think the biggest thing for me is just like to be able to schedule your year out in advance, which we do, and play the select amount of tournaments that you feel like you're going to be competitive in, and that's the planning process at the start of the year to know that, okay, I'm going to play in these events. I'm going to prepare the best I can for those, and then that will keep me hungry.

So I like to play less. There's guys out here that like to play more. I know that for some reason I keep seeing Patrick Reed on TV. Is that like seven in a row or something for him? I don't know. Which is fine. There's nothing wrong with playing a lot. For me, I like to -- if I play less, it kind of pushes you into a corner, where you're like, crap, I need to go out there and play well now because I'm only playing a limited schedule because that's what I feel like I need to do to play well and win.

So you're almost trying to -- like I said, you're almost pushing yourself into a corner where you can't back out. You've got to go forward and play well, and it forces you to stay hungry that way.

Q. Have you been to Oakmont?
JASON DAY: I'm going next week.

Q. Can you get anything out of Bud, being the member at Oakmont?
JASON DAY: I'm going to try and get that dollar signed or five dollars that I signed, yeah.

Well, what's going to happen, I think I'm going to go there Friday and play 18 holes, and Cole's going to walk around with us, and Bob Ford, who's the head pro, he's going to walk around with us as well, and we're going to talk about the golf course.

I've only played it once, so that is going to be probably the most learning curve I'm going to have is during next Friday's practice session, walking with Bud, Cole, and Bob Ford. Just to be able to know where and where not to go because it's been a long time since I've played with Bud at Oakmont. That's the plan going ahead right now.

Q. How long ago was it that you played? And did he beat you?
JASON DAY: Yeah, he did beat me. That's why he's got the signed dollar. What was it? How long ago was it? Was it 2008 or --

Q. (No microphone)?
JASON DAY: Oh, okay. It was like 2006 then or something like that. A long time ago.

Q. Do you remember your reaction to it?
JASON DAY: My first initial reaction, how hard and fast the greens were. And it was like -- I don't know what day it was. It was just like a normal day, no tournament there. Just perfect conditions.

I couldn't get over -- and I remember getting to the 8th hole, I believe, the 290-yard par 3, and I'm like what? I've never seen a 290-yard par 3 ever in my life. It really surprised me how difficult it was.

I think I shot 76 or 77 that day or something like that. I just thought, man, this is just brutal golf course. Hopefully, I'm better these days, so no more 76s around Oakmont.

Q. What was your reaction to losing to Bud?
JASON DAY: I was okay back then. I didn't have a cent to my name. I think I borrowed the dollar off Cole maybe.

Q. Jason, was Wisniewski with you yesterday and today?
JASON DAY: I think he's coming out today.

Q. Can you explain the history you have because, obviously, in his NHL career, he's moved other places.
You all have maintained that close-knit relationship to where he's with you at golf tournaments. What do you all like about each other, and what do you like about him on the golf course?

JASON DAY: I can't get away from him. He's hanging around like a bad smell. Wiz is a good guy. He's addicted to golf. I think he's going to come out and caddie today, but he comes to golf tournaments. He's just one of those guys that loves golf, loves golf a little too much, I think, at times. He just enjoys himself.

But we've had a close friendship for a long time now. He lives here just off the 9th hole here, and he's always out here playing. He'll come and bother me or practice with me at times. Yeah, he's -- I think the first time I met him, he walked up to me, and he's like, hey, I'm James Wisniewski, and he had no teeth in. His front teeth were missing. I'm like, look at this guy. You can tell that guy is a hockey player, just from not having no teeth.

From there I met him and Jared Boll and Derek Dorsett and Brandon Dubinsky, and Scott Hartnell is here now and a bunch of those guys. Those guys like playing golf and going away and watching those golf tournaments as well.

But, yeah, Wisniewski is a character. It's going to be interesting for him to be on the bag if he's coming out today.

Q. Jason, where you're at with your game in the last basically two years, would it surprise you or does it ever surprise you when you don't play well?
JASON DAY: It frustrates me because I know that -- well, it shouldn't frustrate -- the only time that it frustrates me is if I haven't done the work and I put poor preparation in, and I'm like, you deserved it, you know what I mean? But it's more so like I've been -- over the last couple of years, I really worked very, very hard off course with my body, trying to do all the right things, and when it does happen, which it does happen, it's not so much -- I look at it differently these days than I did in the past.

Back when I was young and just newly married, me and Ellie, I'd take it home and be angry, and I'd be like some grumpy old man in the corner, and I wouldn't want anyone to talk to me.

But I think I handle it a little bit better these days, and I can't really take it back in front of Ellie and the kids because it's just not very good to do that. I look at more so as, okay, what do I need to do to get better now? As in improvement. I need to improve onto the next day. And I've had my fair share of bad rounds, but, yeah, I mean it's -- I'm expecting myself to play well each and every week now just from the sheer hard work I'm putting into it and the preparation I'm putting in each week before the tournament. So it comes as a little bit of a surprise if I play bad because I'm not expecting that.

THE MODERATOR: Before we wrap up here, we'd just like to invite your wife Ellie up on stage.

JASON DAY: Ellie Day, everyone.

THE MODERATOR: We'd like Ellie to come up and join you because I know you have a couple of announcements regarding the Brighter Days Foundation, your charitable initiative.

JASON DAY: Are you nervous?

ELLIE DAY: I'm really good at this.

THE MODERATOR: Just to share some of the things happening later this year with your foundation.

JASON DAY: The president would like to give the state of the union on the Brighter Days Foundation.

ELLIE DAY: Oh, gosh, okay. Sorry, you guys, microphones really freak me out a little bit.

So we are having our 2nd annual charity celebrity golf fund-raiser October 2nd and 3rd, and the dinner and auction and concert by our good friend Jake Owen is going to be this Sunday at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. And then the golf on Monday is going to be held at Double Eagle this year.

This year we are benefiting the Stowe Mission in Columbus. That's going to be our sole beneficiary for the event this year. We're really excited to start a relationship with these two guys down here. I had a chance to go visit there a couple weeks ago, before THE PLAYERS actually, and I've just been, since we started the foundation, trying to kind of find where my heart is, and I wanted to make sure that wherever we were working with was really something that just touched my heart.

When I went there, I just kind of knew that was where we wanted to go and tried to keep a poker face, but I'm not good at that. Pretty much laid my cards on the table as soon as we got there. They just do really great work. They do everything from a food pantry to a soup kitchen to a dental clinic, a pregnancy crisis center. They're just really all encompassing of a lot of the needs in the community, and it just really blessed me to be there, and it just touched my heart. I just feel like it's a place where we can have a really, really big impact and really grow together. So I'm really excited about it. That's about it.

THE MODERATOR: That sounds like a wonderful initiative. There will be a press release regarding the information for the Brighter Days Foundation at the end of this press conference, and there will be a spokesperson from the foundation if you have any questions.

Q. Will you be playing in the golf tournament?
ELLIE DAY: Will I be playing in the golf tournament? You're cute. Dash would be better playing. Dash would be a better celebrity than I would be. He's much better at golf than I am.

THE MODERATOR: Well, we appreciate your time. Thank you very much for sharing that with us, and we appreciate it.

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