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WGC DELL MATCH PLAY

March 21, 2017

Jason Day

Austin, Texas

CHRIS REIMER: Welcome our defending champ, Jason Day, here to the interview room at the Dell Technologies Match Play. It must be nice to be back here in Austin where you had such success last year, just some opening comments if you would.

JASON DAY: Obviously looking forward to getting back into it. I was watching the draw party last night and it was -- it's kind of interesting when you're sitting there watching. You don't know what's going to happen. And I was sitting there watching the whole time, and then my family had to go out for dinner and then I was outside and I ended up missing my draw. I ended up finding out.

It's interesting. Obviously you can't underestimate any competitor in this kind of format because on any given day, they can go out and make as many birdies and more birdies than you. And you've got to go in there and think that you've got to win every single match. And just you can't get away with winning two and losing one. Sometimes you can get lucky and get through, sometimes you can't.

So it was a good year last year. And I feel good about my game coming into this week. I just obviously -- I finished tied 23rd last weekend. There are things I can tidy up a little bit, but overall things are trending in the right direction.

CHRIS REIMER: You're playing against Mark. You're familiar with his game. Is it odd playing with someone you're so familiar with?

JASON DAY: It's okay. Mark is a good buddy of mine, as most of the other guys are too. I played Louis, who is a close Buddy, as well, last year in the finals and then obviously Rory in the semis. Everyone knows each other. Some guys you're closer than others. But when it comes time to play match play you've just got to go out and try and beat them. You're not really friends for 18 holes and then when you get off the course you're back to being mates.

So it's tough because this format you have to think differently with regards to the actual format, itself. In stroke play you're playing 72 holes and you've got time, you can be patient. But in this kind of a format, you need to -- it's kind of cut throat where you have to perform right now, make the birdies and get it done with.

Q. You obviously had the back issue last year, and didn't have a practice round. That seemed to work for you. Are you going to be superstitious?
JASON DAY: I'm not going to have a practice round. I think seven rounds in five days did it for me last year. From what I've heard, there's not too much change. There's a few more shaved off areas, but for the most part I played it a fair amount last year. So you know that you have to -- a week like this you've got to really watch your energy levels because it can go pretty quick.

The first three rounds are not too bad, but you get into the weekend you're playing 36, 36. That can be tough. You don't want to stretch yourself too far by getting out and preparing too much.

Today I'm going to get here and do a little bit of practicing on the range, do some putting and chipping and then try to get out of here. It's one thing that I need to make sure that I'm eating correctly because if I'm not doing that then I'll run out of energy pretty quick. Staying hydrated is obviously key. And from there just try and go out and play a little bit. Other than that my health feels pretty good. I haven't had any problems. Finally I get out of the -- cold weather in the West Coast and then I come to Austin, Texas into a tent that's 50 below (laughter).

Usually my back is a little tight in the cold weather but now it's starting to warm up.

Q. What makes a good match player, since you're a pretty decent one?
JASON DAY: I don't know. I think I thrive under -- you have to hit the shots at the right time. I've always said it feels like Sunday every day here because you're playing against the guy across the tee you. You're not worrying about anyone else. It's how much will and how much stuff you've got in the gut to really kind of push you over the line. Everyone is talented here, but it's the guy that's willing to just kind of go through that. You're sitting there and mentally you can switch off, I can kind of coast it a little bit. But you can't allow yourself to mentally switch off in situations like match play. Once again, you can go out and give it all you've got for 18 holes and then you go, okay, I'm done, and move on to the next guy.

It's key to get off it to a good start or stay around him, don't let him get too far out in front. Sometimes you just can't control that because guys get out and play tremendous golf. And you've got no say other than guys just play better than you.

But last year my thing was I may not hit it as good as some of these guys, like Rory or Dustin or some of these guys, but if I do miss it I'm going to get up and down, I'm going to frustrate them with my short game. If I hit it to ten feet, I'm going to hole the putt. In some instances, it did frustrate people because they're thinking this is an easy win here, he's 10 feet away for par and I'm 15 feet away from birdie or whatever it is. It's all kind of momentum switches and stuff like that, too.

Q. Did any part of you need to week, if you will, because it does gets you fired up, do you feel like you're trending up?
JASON DAY: I hope so. I hope so. I think it will get you prepared and ready to get back into the competitive juices again like you're in contention. Obviously I've really had only one good week, which was at Pebble. And that's being in amongst the lead and stuff like that.

So to be able to feel like you are playing a Sunday every day that's good stuff, going forward obviously everyone knows what's just around the corner. But anytime you keep extending your stay here, the better experience you have, the better it is for your golf and your career in the long run anyways.

Q. You mentioned just tidying up a few things. What specifically would you like to see yourself do better? Is it something that has plagued you for a couple of events this year or is it different?
JASON DAY: You go and take three months off, which is fine. I mean, I had to take three months off because of my back. You come back a little rusty. And the driving is probably the key part there where I haven't been driving it as straight as I'd like to. I wasn't really hitting it as far. And once again, I was kind of fiddling around with drivers the start of the year, and I couldn't really find one. Now I feel like I've got one I think I can trust and go forward from here.

But I get a lot of confidence from -- if I'm hitting it straight, that gives me a lot of confidence going forward because I know that I'm longer than most guys out there. And if I can hit it straight and long, that gives me the opportunity to just make it easier for me to get it on the green close to the pin and if I'm putting well then I can hole anything on the greens. That's the feeling that I have.

So just kind of piecing all that stuff together is the hardest thing, because some weeks have been great with driving and irons, and some weeks have been great with putting and I haven't been able to piece it altogether. Last week was great with my short game and unfortunately I didn't really quite have the long game, per se. But I've got to keep working and pushing forward. And hopefully everything starts to piece together right around this time or in a couple of weeks would be nice (laughter).

Q. You mentioned the unpredictability of match play, but in this format is there actually less surprises and maybe who wins the championship? You won it last year. Rory won it the year before. It's not exactly any surprise there.
JASON DAY: Who won it the year before that, before Rory?

Q. You did.
JASON DAY: I did? Okay (laughter).

I had no idea. That's terrible, man.

Who won before that? Yeah, so -- that's shocking. Yeah, I'm just trying to think. It's hard because there's always -- it's not like tennis. In tennis when you -- everyone watches the majors. In tennis, usually the top four seeds get through, at least two or three of them get through.

In this kind of a format just golf is such a different beast that you can't -- other than like a Dustin Johnson or Rory McIlroy, they can physically conquer a course with how long they hit it and how precise they are with their irons, you can't really be too physical with golf. In tennis you can be bigger, stronger, faster. You have more speed that than the next guy, but it's a reactionary sport. Out here you're reacting, per se, to what he's doing to make a smarter decision hopefully or take on risk, but you're not really reacting to how he's throwing shots at you.

Some days you can get a guy and he can go off and have a really great day, and the next day he could play terrible. Golf is just really finicky like that. Obviously the last few years, I feel like the top seeds have done decent.

Yeah, it is unpredictable, but usually it's -- when you come into an event like this, it's all about the attitude and the emotion that you go into it knowing that you're going to do a little bit more than the next guy with regards to how much you really want to push yourself mentally when you're out there playing against a guy. Because you can't quit. No matter how bad it is, even if you're 2-down or 3-down, you never know what's going to happen around the middle of your round or on the backside because momentum does change pretty quick in golf. So you always have to stay on your toes if you're in the lead or behind, and you've always got to kind of keep pushing.

So the unpredictability of a higher seed or a lower seed winning against a higher seed, there's good chances, but once again, you're there for a reason. You should perform and hopefully get to the top.

Q. But having three rounds now guaranteed as opposed to the previous way where it was single elimination right from the start, does that change things at all, do you think?
JASON DAY: The first year I played it, I played it at TPC Harding Park, and I went 0 and 3. My mentality going into it -- because it was so cut throat before where you say if I didn't win on Wednesday I'm gone. And I didn't really take to it too much. I didn't really like the format at the start. I'm like, this is a terrible format. I don't like it at all.

And then the next year, coming to here, I was sitting there and I'm like, just kind of think the way you're supposed to think and say if you do go out there, you have to win every single match, regardless, doesn't matter. Even if you lose one, you feel like you've lost, but you've got to keep pushing even though -- that's the mentality you need, you need to take into this kind of format, even though it is a round robin with three guaranteed rounds to play, you have to win every single match, that's the way I feel.

And I think the first year that I played at Harding Park, I didn't -- like I say, I didn't really take to it. And I kind of -- emotionally, inside, I was like, I kind of took out all of the -- I want to -- I kind of get you, just me and you, and that's it, you know. Whereas in like it just kind of took all that kind of mongrel inside of you, your gut, out of you.

And then the next year I changed my attitude and the way I looked at it and I was fine from there.

Q. Along the same lines, you've had success under both, round robin and do or die. Do you prefer one or the other?
JASON DAY: I like the other way where it's just -- you either win or you go home, because it's just -- it forces you to go out and play. I need to play well here. If I don't play well then I'm going home. I'm going to watch these guys on the weekend, because I really want to be here. I'll take either way, but I like the kind of format before.

Q. If you have a tournament at a course where something negative about it has happened to you on your previous visit, how do you deal with that? I'm doing a comparison with what Jordan is going to face in two weeks time. What would your approach be to get over something negative that happened a previous time? From your personal experience, how would you deal with something like that?
JASON DAY: The biggest thing is to not like hold it as a negative. I mean, yeah, like, for instance, Jordan, he had the lead, a sizable lead at Augusta and made a bit of a mess on 12.

I've done the same thing. I had the lead in 2013 with three holes to go and I was standing on 16 and I made a mess of 16. Don't look at it as a negative and go -- and hold that above yourself and put that on a pedestal. Understand that it's just learning. It's okay to fail. But it's okay to fail as long as you look at it as a learning experience and know that the next time I'm there, I'm going to make sure I try to do this instead of doing the exact same thing that put me in that position.

And I think -- say, for instance, if we're talking about Jordan, he's young enough and talented enough that it won't even affect him. Obviously, it hurt and stung at the time. But I think he's done pretty good with his career thus far, and I think he's going to have a lot more opportunities to win Augusta, green jackets and other major championships. It goes in there and kind of sits around in your head a little bit but sooner or later it kind of goes off and you're done with it.

He's done all right. He won -- I think he won a couple of times last year, and then he ended up going to Australia and he won the Australian Open. Then he played Pebble this year and he won Pebble, as well. I think he's going to be fine going into Augusta. And he should be one of the favorites going there because of how well he's played there in previous years.

Dustin obviously the same way. But definitely his game, Jordan's game is definitely suited for it. He's one of those players where he's not crazy long and it actually benefits him around that place because if you're a longer guy it kind of tempts you to take on certain things. For him to be able to hit to the corners and hit to the greens and take over with his putting, that's why he played so well there. If we're talking about getting over things, you've just got to look at it as a learning experience and move on. The more you just hold yourself there, it's not good stuff. You can't hold that stuff in, you've got to let it out somewhere.

Q. Can I get you to talk about Leishman, what would make him a competitor on Friday.
JASON DAY: Leish, it will be a good match on Friday. I'm looking forward to it. He's obviously played some tremendous golf coming home, at Bay Hill. I was watching on Shot Tracker, and seeing how it was going. Obviously Rory was having a great back nine and a great round that day. Leish, getting up and down on 17 and 18, pretty huge stuff.

So Leish is one of those guys, he's kind of quiet out there, he hits it pretty decently straight, hits good iron shots and when he chips and putts well he gets on a streak. That's obviously one match he can't really go in thinking it's easy. Like I said, nothing is easy in this kind of a format, because anyone can come out and play well. Yeah, if he putts well and chips good, then he'll be very, very tough to beat.

Q. Seven rounds in five days last year, was that good preparation for Augusta? Was it indifferent? Did it matter at all to you?
JASON DAY: No, it didn't matter. We actually talked about it last night because -- I can't remember what the old format was, how many rounds it was. Do you know? How many rounds was it with the old format? Was it six rounds? Seven rounds -- I can't believe I don't know this stuff (laughter).

No, the good thing, you should be able to recover in a week, do you know what I mean? Some guys -- I think the hard stretch for some guys that are going to play here and then play Houston and then play Augusta, I think that's very, very difficult to do.

Last year I played well here, won. And then I took like four or five days off and I didn't even touch a club. That gave me enough time to recover. I was totally fine with that.

Q. If I remember right from last year, you said you didn't get to experience Austin at all, because you were going through treatment with your back. Do you have any plans to do stuff this year with the family?
JASON DAY: I'm going to be playing video games with Nick Watney all week. I'm staying at his place. So it's us gaming all week. Mountain Dew and pizza.

Q. Any game in particular?
JASON DAY: Call of Duty. I'm going to be yelling at 12-year-olds. So if I yell at your 12-year-old, I'm sorry.

Q. Just to kind of follow-up on that, is there a difference between winning and playing well? Obviously you won last year. And two weeks later you played well, but you finished T-10. Is there a difference in that? And also, is this an awkward time for this event, a match play event, two weeks before the first major of the year? Is there a better time in the schedule for an event like this, do you think?
JASON DAY: The time in the schedule, that's above my pay grade with that. They obviously -- I like it here in this format. Obviously we go to Mexico, which was a couple of weeks ago, and then we have the match play here. I don't mind this format. We play it pretty much once or twice a year with obviously The Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup.

But this is fine. Obviously the guys, if they come in -- alluding back to Ben's question before, actually I think it helps because when you're playing on a Sunday or like it feels like it's a Sunday every single day. That stuff helps going into Augusta and other tournaments that you're going to play.

So with that, I think it does help. Playing-wise, the way I was playing, I won here and then I finished tied 8th or 10th or whatever it was at Augusta. It's a fine line between actually missing a cut and winning a tournament. I think a lot of people don't realize how fine that line is. A couple bounces here, a couple of putts go there, a few more putts lip in than lip out. It's very, very difficult to stay on top of your game all the time like Tiger did back in the day. That's very, very difficult to do. That's obviously the goal to be able to try and do that. But, once again, the competitors are tough here, as every week, and you've got to try and do your best.

Schedule-wise, I think match play is suited perfectly here. But we're a month out and everyone is talking about Augusta. So it's kind of -- obviously you want every tournament to be relevant and have its own week and everyone talking about it all week. But obviously some weeks are overshadowed by some major championships that are coming up and I think this is a good week to have this kind of a format. It adds a little bit of excitement before the actual first major coming into an Augusta, and hopefully I can play well here this week.

Q. Were you confident of Augusta waving off last year? On Sunday night did you say to yourself, man, I can't wait to get to Augusta?
JASON DAY: Yeah, it was good, because I came off winning Bay Hill and Match Play, as well. My confidence was pretty high. Leading into that event everything was rolling. I was driving it well. I was chipping well. Hitting great putts. Everything was really set.

This year it's a little bit different. Obviously I haven't had the wins. I haven't had the performance that I'd like to. But golf is a finicky kind of a game where a guy can miss -- play 13 weeks in a row and win on the 13th week. Or guys can miss seven cuts in a row and win the next week. It's weird how it works. And that's where you've just got to always stay positive, even when things aren't going that great. Stay positive, keep moving forward and hopefully by the end of it soon you'll get yourself out of a rut and go from there.

Q. Does your mindset or anything change when you come into an event as the defending champ?
JASON DAY: It's different this week. Like last week -- I think as time goes on and the more you win the easier it just gets, because it's just like, hey, you're a great winner and you won it last year. You come into the media center and people ask you, how are you feeling? Is it good memories coming from last year and whatnot? Yes, but obviously this year is just totally different. Different temperature, different feels, different players in the field. Everything is just different.

So it really -- yeah, I look at myself as a defending champ, but I really don't look at myself in that way. I know that I've got to come here and try and beat these guys again. And that's the biggest thing for me. With regards to a match play event, you have to beat seven guys. If you beat seven guys -- it's not like you're beating 140 guys on a given week. You come here and beat seven guys, you win the tournament and that's what I'm trying to do is beat the seven guys that I'm playing.

CHRIS REIMER: Good luck this week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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