PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 7, 2020

Jason Day

Harding Park Golf Club

Flash Quotes

JOHN DEVER: Good afternoon. Welcome back to the 2020 PGA Championship here at TPC Harding Park. Pleased to be joined by 2015 PGA Champion, Jason Day.

Jason posted a second-round 69 that included four birdies, one bogey, a double-bogey. He sits at 6-under par for the championship.

JASON DAY: Thanks for rattling those off.

JOHN DEVER: But overall you have to like what you've accomplished these last two days. Correct?

JASON DAY: Yeah, it's been -- the course played a little bit -- obviously a lot harder today for us in the afternoon. I know that the guys got a lot stronger wind yesterday. So to be able to walk off beating the golf course and shooting 69 today, I was pretty pleased with that.

Q. Going back to your last four starts, how do you feel? Is this as good as you've felt in a long time?

JASON DAY: I definitely feel good. I'm to the point now where I'm nitpicking my round and before I really wasn't. Before I was just happy to get inside the cut, you know, and get on to the weekend, and sometimes you need those weeks to just make it and get some confidence. Certainly have gained a lot of confidence over the last three times I've played, and you know, I'm just going to try and tidy up the putting for this weekend hopefully and hit it a little better off the too he.

Q. How are you feeling physically?

JASON DAY: Physically, I feel great. I'm always trying to stay disciplined with my exercises and soft tissue work, and then overall, I feel good. So when I first came out, I struggled to walk around a golf course and play golf. You know, it hurt to walk. But now I feel great and I feel fine.

Q. Harding, as you might know, has a history of producing big-name winners. Usually the best players seem to win here. Why do you think that is, and how much of an advantage is it for you and Brooks and guys who have won majors and been at the top of the game on a course like this over the weekend?

JASON DAY: It's a big golf course. It's a big-boy golf course. The strange thing is when we have the southwesterly wind there's a lot of side-wind golf shots, so you have to really control your ball flight. If you're comfortable hitting a fade, it would be great into the right-to-left winds and then you're starting it way left on the left-to-right winds, so there's a good mix of right-to-left holes with wind and left-to-right holes with wind, so you have to be committed to your swing or the shot that you're actually trying to play.

Then on top of it, the greens, I think the last time we were here, they had a little bit more poa annua and they were a little more bumpy, but the green surfaces are playing tremendous. They are starting to get that little purple dry look to them, and with this wind, it's definitely difficult.

Obviously you add all that into it and it's a major championship. That's where I think a lot of the guys feel a lot more pressure, and usually when you have a tough golf course like this, it kind of separates the really -- the guys that are really playing well right now, compared to the guys that are, you know, kind of just on the cusp of playing well.

Q. I believe Daly City is the largest Filipino community in the United States. Do you have sort of a vibe for how people are pulling for you there?

JASON DAY: I think we get it on 12 a little bit. It's just hard. I know that if we were playing, the community would come out and support a lot, because once you're a Filipino, you're always part of the family pretty much.

It's unfortunate that I can't see the faces out here, especially the fans around this week and obviously miss them dearly for that reason. I know that when I come to San Diego, as well, there's a big population down there, and I feel like anytime I'm in California, I get pretty good support.

Q. Do you feel like today's round was still progress?

JASON DAY: Yes.

Q. Considering it was just the two sort of bad holes and how confident do you feel marching towards the top of the leaderboard?

JASON DAY: Yeah, it feels good. Obviously 12 was a bit of a mess. Wish I could have at least bogeyed that instead of doubled it, but overall, I gave myself plenty of opportunities coming in and just didn't capitalize on them like I did yesterday.

So shooting 69 today, moving in the right direction, which is nice, if I can do that over the weekend, maybe shoot a couple more over the Saturday and Sunday round, hopefully I'm there; Sunday in contention. But the game feels good. I'm excited to come out and play every single day. I'm just going to try to tidy up the driving a little bit on the range and try to hole some more putts tomorrow if I can.

Q. You talk about you're in that place where you're nitpicking your rounds now. Your confidence is obvious when you're sort of not loving the ones that still end up in the fairway, just not exactly where you aimed them. I'm seeing that out there.

JASON DAY: Yeah, it's that or I mis-hit it a little bit and I'm just frustrated because I just mis-hit it. I mean, I'm really nitpicking there.

Q. You're clearly in a good head space then?

JASON DAY: Yeah, you know what, I've been in such a terrible head space for the last six months that I just -- you know, I'm trying to have a better outlook, a better attitude about it. It definitely, you know, when you wake up in the morning, you have a better attitude and you're excited to go to the golf course.

It makes things like a day like today where it's difficult seem a lot better than coming out, if you had a terrible attitude or you're not feeling that great. You could potentially come out here and shoot yourself out of the lead or out of contention. So I'm just -- I'm excited for the next two days. It's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be tough. It should be a good weekend.

Q. Haotong Li was there when you got there and he is still there on the practice range. I don't know if anybody told him to, hey, go home, but just a testament to this guy who smells blood in the water?

JASON DAY: He was on the teeing green when I was on the driving range and then he was on the chipping green when I was doing interviews. He's probably the only guy that rents out a golf course to stay instead of renting out a house this week, which is kind of unique. I know the guy likes to practice, but man, it's a major week. Hopefully he knows what he's doing and I'm sure he does because he's obviously playing better than us.

You know, I'm about to go and do some practice but not as many hours as he's put in today.

JOHN DEVER: Thank you for stopping by. Have a good evening.