THE 152ND OPEN

July 18, 2024

Jason Day

Mixed Zone

Q. Was it tough out there today, and how happy are you to come in with the score you did?

JASON DAY: I'd like to clean up the back side. I felt like I played a lot better. I just didn't -- I felt like I had a really good bogey on 12. I lost a ball right. I actually lost two balls right and found the first one. The military guy escorting us around, he was in the bush there, so many thanks to him.

Yeah, it was tough. It's starting to kind of die down a little bit now, which is probably a little more favourable for the guys that are finishing up now.

Q. Do you feel like it's just a bit of a difficult situation, like just the tougher side?

JASON DAY: Was it tougher? I don't know what it was like this morning.

Q. Does it feel like the scores will be a little better?

JASON DAY: I wouldn't be surprised if you start to see guys playing a little bit better coming in just because the wind is not as crazy as it was earlier in the day and obviously in the afternoon.

It just feels like, yeah, there's got to be a lot more opportunities for birdie.

I think overall it's a decent start. I've just got to kind of clean up the mistakes a little bit and kind of get myself back in the tournament.

Q. (No microphone)?

JASON DAY: I remember talking to Tony. I was playing a practise round with him, I think it was either Monday or Tuesday. He's like -- no, it would have been Monday. He goes it's going to blow 30 on Thursday. I'm like don't tell me that.

But that's what you kind of get. It's just we had -- the first part of the week was eCommerce for Scotland. It was unbelievable. It was perfect weather, sunny, I was starting to get a tan. That's kind of not what you really expect when you come over to Scotland.

I think it was fun today. Obviously that's kind of what you expect when it comes to an Open Championship.

Q. Can I ask you about the Olympics? I know it's a couple weeks away, but are you looking forward to it?

JASON DAY: My mindset is not really on it right now, but I think I'm really looking forward to it. Just once this week happens, then I'll start to kind of like -- I've got to go home, which is unfortunate, but that's part and parcel of it.

Q. You're going back to Ohio?

JASON DAY: Yeah, I'm going back to Ohio, yeah. I wish I could stay over here, but three weeks on the road without seeing the family is a little difficult. But once this week has happened, I'm going to start getting pretty excited about it.

Q. You opted out in '16?

JASON DAY: Yeah, in Rio, I opted out.

Q. Do you sort of feel like, hey, I get another crack at this?

JASON DAY: I do. It's nice to be able to play really well last year and get myself into position and then kind of start off well at the start of the year because that's kind of one of my goals is to get in the Olympic team. I've never done it before. I had an opportunity and kind of wish I did go -- end up going in the end. At the end of the day, I was 1 or 2 in the world going into that week, going into the Olympics, and had a legitimate chance obviously with the way I was playing.

You live and you learn and kind of move on. But, yeah, I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be good. Right now I'm trying to get myself back into a British Open.

Q. Just on that, what's the key to sort of knuckling down and performing tomorrow?

JASON DAY: I have no idea what the weather is going to do tomorrow. Just kind of anything under-par tomorrow would be great, just kind of keep moving forward.

Honestly, I have no clue what the championship is going to -- what the winner is ultimately going to shoot at the end of the week. It's really difficult. It's hard to gauge it.

I feel like week in and week out on the PGA Tour, I can gauge pretty much to the number how many under or what the score is going to be at the end of the week. This is difficult because it's so weather dependent. You've got to take it day by day.

Q. Is there a number where you feel will at least have a chance on Sunday?

JASON DAY: I have no idea. Right now 4-under is leading. At the start of the week, you're thinking 12, but it might be -- if it stays at 4 and the wind kind of stays the way that it is, you're most likely looking at single digits. So you've just got to kind of ease your way back in. Don't be silly and take yourself out of the tournament. Just get yourself into contention on Sunday, and then who knows what will happen on the back side.

Q. You enjoy that style of golf, right? When it's like a U.S. Open like --

JASON DAY: Yeah, my agent here, Bud, he always, when it's like terrible weather and I'm dreading going out, he goes, You love that weather. It's perfect for you. I'm like, yeah, it's nice for you sitting in bloody player dining at 72 degrees.

Q. Did he ever call you a mudder?

JASON DAY: Yeah, well, my wife calls me a mud runner. Typically when the weather gets worse, I start playing a bit better.

Q. Why is that?

JASON DAY: I don't know. I actually dislike playing in bad weather, but I just feel like most people kind of -- their attitude just gets worse, and you know that if your attitude, if you can kind of have a good attitude, that you'll play better in the end.

Plus I've got a good short game, for the most part.

Q. Was there any shots you hit today that you had actually hit during practise, or was it completely different? I talk about long shots, approach shots.

JASON DAY: Well, I hit 4-iron into 2, and the first couple days, I hit 52 degree. So that was definitely a different shot (laughter). Yeah, I didn't hit my 7-wood that great off the tee box, to be honest, but I clipped a 4-iron in there middle of the green, just short of the middle of the green, and I'm sitting there going, if I do that again, it's going to be a long day.

Not really. It was just a completely different golf course, yeah.

Q. Can you understand why some of us feel that it's surprising that you're having such difficulty? Can you understand that? Can you explain to someone who isn't out there and isn't as skillful as you are why you're having such difficulty?

JASON DAY: Well, to the point of like No. 2, for instance, in the practise rounds, when it was a southwest wind and it's not as subtly, so the southwest wind I'm hitting a 7-wood and potentially a pitching wedge, 52 degree. A southerly wind is more into us, and you definitely want to stay out of the bunkers, and you don't want to hit it along a club that can get you into trouble. So you're going with something that you can get down the fairway.

And all of a sudden you just don't quite hit the shot correctly, and it kind of spins up a little bit. Then you're sitting there staring at a 4-iron going into that green. Just different shots around the golf course is very difficult.

I'm just trying to think, we hit -- I hit 4-iron, 8-iron into 7, and in the practise round I hit driver and a chip shot.

Granted, that may change over the week, but this type of -- you just can't be too aggressive. Plus it's a practise round, and you're not really caring where the ball goes too.