THE SENTRY

January 4, 2024

Jason Day

Plantation Course at Kapalua

Quick Quotes

Q. How would you describe that round out there today?

JASON DAY: Just very steady. It was nice. I think it was, like, there's always, you kind of have to get 2- to 3-under on the front side, and the back side you can kind of, you kind of get yourself into positions. You can get a few more birdies on the back side. So, that's kind of what I was thinking, if I could get 2-, 3-under on the front side, which ended up 2-under and then there's definitely a lot more opportunities on the back side. I felt like I just really kind of found my footing in the middle part of my round. Started getting a little bit more confident with my strikes and my trajectory control, spin control coming into the greens, because that's what you need here. Rolled in some good putts, which was good.

Q. How gratifying is it to be back here after a few years not being here?

JASON DAY: Yeah, it's a good way to start the year. I just can't help but feel thankful to be able to play this game, and be here healthy and enjoying golf, which is a good thing. I still want to compete and play well and try and win this tournament. So, three more days to go, but I feel very lucky to be here.

Q. What was the last, over the last year, when was the last time before then did you feel as healthy as you've felt right now?

JASON DAY: Going back probably before 2015. So, it's quite a long time. I still get hiccups every now and then still. For the most part, yeah, through my No. 1 years, I was in a lot of pain, but kind of just, I did -- I sucked it up and just pushed through the pain. Which was, like, great, but it was, like, very short. So, hopefully, this time getting back there I can stay there for a lot longer than what I did.

Q. Wondering how long did it take to, in a competitive round today, take you to get memories of having played here before?

JASON DAY: Yeah, not long. Just because the practice rounds you're kind of prepping to see what holes you want to take advantage of and everything. You kind of remember the winds, just the typical winds that you have. Every now and then we kind of get a surprise and it comes from a different direction. Today was a little bit harder picking some of the wind, just because they were kind of light and variable, so the winds were kind of moving all over the shop, but didn't really take much time.

Q. To follow that, how much does course knowledge matter in this event, do you think?

JASON DAY: Actually, I think it matters on certain shots, but it also matters more so around the greens. Being able to -- the majority of the time we're hitting 60-degree pitch shots. If you can utilize like 52s and 56s around the greens, being able to kind of get used to the bounce and rolls, because you kind of need 'em into some of these slopes. Yeah, some of the lines, like, you take 4, for instance, off the tee shot, you kind of got to, it's a blind shot, kind of got to know your spot. So, but it's one of those courses that you get used to pretty quick. You kind of know exactly where you need to hit it and stuff.

Q. How special is this week? We all know what happened August 8th. How special is this for you and maybe guys that you chat with, how special is this week for you guys?

JASON DAY: Yeah, I think, like I said, I feel like we are very lucky to be here playing. Obviously, there's a massive devastation of people out of their homes and the fires that had happened, it's obviously very, very sad to see. I feel like the guys are happy to be here, but understand what has obviously happened. Hopefully, the TOUR and the players can kind of band together and do something for the locals here. I feel like being here this week, we feel very blessed to be able to play here.