THE 151ST OPEN

July 23, 2023

Jason Day

Mixed Zone

Q. Was there anything you guys could have done, or was this just one of those --

JASON DAY: No. He had to come back to us essentially. He played -- to shoot 10-under through two rounds, I don't know what kind of lead he had at that point, but it seemed like he had a pretty significant margin.

What a feeling. Even to have this as a par putt, but he's got a six-shot lead for his first major championship is pretty awesome. I mean, that just caps off what he's accomplished here this week.

For him to kind of go through what he did at the start of the year and then kind of kick it off over the last month and a bit, he's got to be ecstatic right now.

Q. You have to be pretty happy with a runner-up finish.

JASON DAY: I am. Considering my play over the last month and a bit, it hasn't been that great, and then obviously I didn't have the greatest confidence coming into this week, but to be able to finish tied second was nice.

Q. What's more validating, winning or contending in the majors?

JASON DAY: I think just unfortunately I hadn't played that great in the majors this year, so it was nice to be able to finish this major off and finish tied second. Just the slow, gradual increase in confidence through good play.

But you know, yeah, I wish I would have cut into the lead a little bit more. You just never know. When someone has such a great lead, a big lead, big margin, and then you kind of cut into it, you just never know what they're going to do under the pump.

To have a six-shot lead going into the last hole, a lot of breathing room there.

Q. How do you think about the majors compared to the rest of the tournaments on your schedule?

JASON DAY: Well, they're the ones you want to win. Obviously you want to win every week, but everyone looks at the majors to -- yeah, it's ones that you want to win. You always count how many majors you can win, and obviously people ask -- they say how many tournaments you've got, but they always look at how many major championships you've got, as well.

At some point I'm going to get off one and get my second one.

Q. What's next for you on the horizon?

JASON DAY: Just a break, two weeks off, and then get ready for the FedExCup.

Q. You've come out from outside the top 100 --

JASON DAY: Yeah, 175, I believe.

Q. This is confirmation for you that you're contending again, yeah?

JASON DAY: Yeah, I think -- yeah, I mean, it's been nice to work, especially where I was with the injuries and everything, and then coming off -- you're seeing some guys out there that are battling injuries, and they lose confidence, and for me personally to be able to work through that and kind of get my game back to where I feel like it should be, I feel like I've done the right thing.

I've just got to kind of tighten things up, and then maybe get myself in contention a little bit more.