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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE

June 3, 2016

Jason Day

Dublin, Ohio

Q. Jason, how good a score is 1 under par considering the way you hit the ball today?
JASON DAY: It's a little bit of a difference between yesterday and today. If I didn't have a short game, I probably would have shot high 70s.

You know, you ever wake up some days, and you just feel like you don't have any control over your swing, and that's just the way I felt today. I just had no control for some reason. Maybe it was just the quick turnaround and just a bad hole. Things just started unfolding that way. But to be able to stick it out and shoot 1 under on a tough day like this was pretty nice.

I'm sitting back at, I think, five back right now currently. So I've got to do some work on the weekend.

Q. Mr. Nicklaus' recommendation to you at the start of this tournament was stay patient. Was that hard to do today?
JASON DAY: Yeah, it was definitely hard to do, especially when you're trying to stay patient and hit irons off the tees and 3 woods off the tees and missing the fairways. So it didn't matter what club I had in my hand. I just felt so uncomfortable out there, and I just don't know if it was -- I think it was more kind of up top just feeling -- not quite feeling settled with my swing, feeling like I'm hitting it one way in the earlier part of my round, and then I start missing it the other way. And when you have that double miss, it's very, very difficult to feel confident over the ball even though you're trying to get the shot. But I know I'm going to hit it a lot better tomorrow.

Q. Will you go to the range this afternoon and work with coach and caddie on the swing, or is it just one of those days and you put it down to that?
JASON DAY: I think it was just one of those days. I think I got in my own way a little bit as well out there. It kind of shocked me out of the gate where I started hitting a few left, and then I just couldn't quite get my head wrapped around, okay, you've just got to get back and trust it. Everything kind of unfolded from there.

I'm not going to do anything on the range. I've done the prep that I needed to come into this week. I'm glad I shot 1 under today, and I'm shooting under par, but in a way, it's disappointing as well.

There's still a lot of golf to be played. I know the wind is probably going to be down a little bit. We may have a little bit of weather tomorrow, but that should set up some pretty good scoring opportunities. Once again, just got to be patient.

Q. Jason, 71 today. A little bit of a struggle hitting the ball, wasn't it, but the short game was great. You've got to be immensely proud that you hung in there so well.
JASON DAY: Yeah, off the tee and into the greens today, it was just the total opposite of what I did yesterday. But I think it was just more of I started missing a few early left and then started missing it right, and then just kind of everything came apart there. I just didn't know what to do.

But the only good thing that happened today was my short game. I just feel like I'm going to hit a lot better tomorrow. That's just my feeling. I know that this was kind of just an off day that you have. Sometimes you just have an off day.

With 36 holes to go, I wouldn't say I'm too far off the lead, but I've got to make sure I get myself back in contention.

Q. When you're struggling with the ball striking, tell us how hard it is on a course like this where you have to be so precise with the flags tucked on the edges?
JASON DAY: It's kind of hard to explain, but it just feels like -- do you ever wake up where everything just feels out of control? That's the way it feels like. I just felt like my swing was out of control. I had no confidence kind of trusting the ability to hit my target.

Every now and then, there was a glimmer of hope there where I hit some good shots, but then the next hole, I'd miss it left and miss it right. Once you start missing fairways here left and right, it's difficult to get next to the hole and difficult to get onto the green. When you're just around the greens, the rough is thick, the bunkers are hard, it's difficult to get up and down. But once again, short game saved my score out there today.

Q. And when you have a struggle out there that's partly mechanical problems or rhythm problems, when you go to the range, what will you work on trying to get that rhythm back?
JASON DAY: I'm not going to go to the range. I just know it was just one of those off days, I think. I did all the prep coming into this week. So I know it's not the swing. When I'm missing it by a long way left and right, I know that it's more mental than it is technical.

Obviously, there's some technical issues there with the club face. But when you're missing it that large, that means you're just not quite there mentally. I just couldn't quite focus in and really hit my targets today because of the (indiscernible).

Q. Probably one of your poor rounds in a while, but you still got 1 under.
JASON DAY: Yeah, it wasn't that great from tee to green. Had it going left a little early on and then started missing to the right, and then when you're missing it left and right, then it's obviously hard to trust and commit to a golf swing. Hit it very poorly.

Once again, I think it was more upstairs than it was the technical issue just because you just don't miss shots that far right and that far left. I feel like I'm going to hit a lot better tomorrow. Just got to try to rest up this afternoon. I'm not going to go to the range at all because I know I've done the prep to get to this point.

When it comes to playing tournament golf, you just go in there and play, but it's just -- yeah, a little frustrating on that part. But the other positive thing was my short game was on fire today. So I saved myself -- I saved my score out there with the short game and kind of saw a lot of things out there from me today that I really don't see too often. But I got my chips across the green, so I feel great.

I'll look at some shots -- 17, for example, the widest fairway on the golf course, and I hit it out of bounds. Yeah, just get some rest and go on for tomorrow.

Q. Jason, considering how well you've been playing as of late, when you have a round like today which is solid but not to your standards, is it even more frustrating, or is it you're okay?
JASON DAY: No, I'm okay with that because I should have shot past 75 today. I really should have shot over that because, once again, like I said, if I didn't have my short game, there's no way I would have shot -- it would have been close to 80. It was bad.

But, yeah, it is what it is. To be able to walk off 1 under par instead of shooting something way over par and getting yourself out of contention, getting yourself out of the tournament, I'm actually quite pleased with it because, even though I'm sitting five or six back right now, hopefully, it stays around that, then I can just hopefully slowly build on that over the weekend because there's a lot of golf to be played.

Sunday is going to play tough with the wind and the rain, and obviously we've got tomorrow as well with some weather. But we'll see how it goes.

Q. You said upstairs mental. Is that pressing perhaps?
JASON DAY: No, like it's hard to press when you're missing fairways with irons and 3 woods, you know what I mean? You're trying to be patient, and you start missing fairways with irons and 3 woods just trying to get it on the fairway. When you're out of position here, it's just really tough to get yourself back into position.

Yeah, it all start the from the tee shots, and then that kind of crept into the second -- you know, the shots into the green. And then when you're out of position, it's just hard to get yourself -- or get enough birdie opportunities.

To be honest, guys, I'm not too -- I'm disappointed with how I hit it, but I'm not too disappointed because I shot 71. So I'm pretty happy with that.

Q. Jason, I know you're used to this on the Tour now, but being here in Ohio at a Tour event without Tiger, it's a different dynamic for fans, I think. What about for you personally?
JASON DAY: Yeah, I mean, obviously, it's just -- I think a lot of the guys miss Tiger. I think the game of golf is kind of missing Tiger a little bit too. But I think, you know, as time goes on, everyone's -- you've got to get up and just go play golf. Everyone is trying to win the tournament just like I am. And I know that, when Tiger came to this tournament, he was -- there was, I think, a three-year run where he won three times in a row, and he was such a big part to this golf course, really just this community. When he showed up, he played so good.

So there's a lot of history behind his presence here at this golf tournament. Obviously, he's injured right now, and he thought that he may have come back for this one and to go play the U.S. Open, but obviously, he's still not feeling quite 100 percent. Hopefully, he'll be back soon.

Q. Do you expect to see him at Oakmont?
JASON DAY: That's tough to tell. I mean, would you come back to a U.S. Open after having a long time off at one of the hardest venues? It's very difficult.

The one thing that is good about Oakmont is, if it's dry conditions, you can get away with hitting irons off the tees, and with an iron in his hand, he's pretty deadly. And when he's on the greens, he's Tiger Woods. It's just hard to come back from such a big layoff to go straight to the hardest tournament of the year.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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