THE 151ST OPEN

July 21, 2023

Jason Day

Mixed Zone

Q. If someone said to you, would you take these seven shots behind the leader at the halfway stage, what would you have said to them?

JASON DAY: I'd say it's okay for now. I think it's just hard to tell what kind of weather we're going to get, but from what I understand and what I've been hearing, I think we're going to get some pretty awful weather tomorrow.

But just saying earlier that it is The Open Championship, so if we do get some pretty average weather, it'll bring a lot of guys back in or at least give them a chance at shooting up the leaderboard pretty quick on tomorrow's round and then obviously Sunday, as well.

I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking at the leaderboard right now as we speak, and I mean, Brian played unbelievable golf to shoot 10-under through two rounds. It was really difficult conditions today.

A lot of pressure on Brian right now to kind of extend that lead, but there's a lot of good players there right now that are trying to catch him.

Q. (Indiscernible) does that ensure you're in the right spot?

JASON DAY: Well, I was saying yesterday that I wasn't quite happy with how I was hitting the golf ball so I went and worked on it a little bit and had a lot better control out there today from tee to green, and that gave me opportunities, which was nice, and obviously starting off two birdies in the first three holes was crucial because you bogey one of those coming out, you're probably sitting here talking about a different story.

For me personally, I think it's nice to be able to get in the house. T4 right now is great. We've got to slowly keep pushing. I think I've got a number in my head but I'm not going to say it because typically when I say it I'm terribly wrong. I'm just going to kind of keep pushing towards that number.

Q. Is it a score that you need to win this?

JASON DAY: Yes.

Q. Do you still feel at this stage that it's his to lose or yours to win? Or both?

JASON DAY: I was going to say both, but there's a lot of good players there right now that are playing some good golf. Young guys -- Min Woo Lee has been playing some really good golf on some tough courses in the big moments.

Yeah, but I'm excited about it because I haven't played the majors well this year, and it's been a little bit disappointing. Even though I've played great for the most part of the year, I haven't played well in the majors, and it's been a little frustrating for me.

But I think if I can get one here this week, that will definitely change it.

Q. When you're in a situation at 3-under, is the pressure on you or is it off you?

JASON DAY: I'm not really focused on trying to win the tournament right now. I'm just trying to cut into his lead, whereas he's trying to keep that lead. That's a little bit of a different mindset. I'm just trying to stay in my own little world and hopefully add them up tomorrow and I'm a little bit closer.

Q. It looks like Cam is just about going to make the cut, but is probably out of contention to successfully defend the title. You've got two Aussies in the fray. Could you just talk a little bit about Min and how good he is?

JASON DAY: He's a great player. I think once he learns to control -- it's going to get better because he's obviously young. But he'll gain more control with his swing, gain more control overall with his game. He's got a tremendous short game. Putts really, really nice. He hits it a mile. Once he can learn to kind of keep everything there -- obviously there's no wonder to see him up on the major championship leaderboards this year because of what type of game he has. Hits it a very, very long way and has a very good short game. That is typically a good formula for success, especially around major championship golf courses.

Man, it would be nice to be able to hit it his length. I'm dinking little 3-woods out there right now.

Q. How many did you hit today?

JASON DAY: I hit two drivers over the last two days, both on 15. Then the rest have been 3-woods. Trying to just stay to my plan and hopefully it works.