home jobs contact us
Our Clients:
Browse by Sport
Find us on ASAP sports on Facebook ASAP sports on Twitter
ASAP Sports RSS Subscribe to RSS
Click to go to
Asaptext.com
ASAPtext.com
ASAP Sports e-Brochure View our
e-Brochure

THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY MORGAN STANLEY


June 4, 2010


Jason Day


DUBLIN, OHIO


Q. Jason, after winning two weeks ago and then having to play at your home course and all you've been through, do you have any idea what day of the week it is or where you are or what's going on?
JASON DAY: No, it's been very tiring over the last couple of weeks, especially after the Byron. Last week was very tough. I think the first round I was running a little bit on adrenaline. I played well the first round. I kind of stuck it out, which was nice. It's always tough to get your first win and then try and back it up the week after.
You know, I was very glad that I kind of stuck it out. Hadn't finished great, but I played pretty solid. I just didn't hole the putts that I needed to.
You know, this week I'm trying to put myself in good position for the weekend.

Q. Played well into last night almost to get it finished. Come right out and put a double bogey on the card early.
JASON DAY: Right.

Q. But then bounced right back.
JASON DAY: Yeah, I had a quick double bogey on 14. You know, I just wanted to keep myself in the game.
So I said to myself, okay, let's try to hit some greens, get back to square one and just try and hole some birdie putts. Lucky enough, I had an eagle on the back nine, which was the front nine, and I finished up and got the birdie, which was nice.

Q. Rickie at the top of the leaderboard. You're chasing him. You can actually call him kid. Isn't that fun?
JASON DAY: Yeah, he's younger than me, and I'm only 22. No, it's good. I'm glad to see Rickie up there. He's a really, really good guy. You know, I've known Rickie for a while now. It's just good to see him up there with a chance to win.
So hopefully over the weekend we can have a good one.

Q. I asked your wife Ellie if she spent the money from the Byron yet, and she said, yeah, you guys kind of have. You've got a van? You've got a trailer?
JASON DAY: We just bought a tour bus. We did spend a big chunk of it. So I'm just trying to save up.

Q. First week out, though, with the bus?
JASON DAY: First week out with the bus, which is really nice. The first couple days -- I didn't practice Monday, Tuesday, and I practiced late Wednesday. Had a lot of stuff to put into the bus.

Q. Well, you put a win together in almost your adopted hometown. This is her hometown, isn't it?
JASON DAY: Yeah, she's only an hour north of here. We've got a lot of friends and family in town this week. It was kind of hard to -- you know, after a long couple of weeks, it's hard to take this week off because it's Jack's event and, you know, the family's in town.
So I'm glad that we have the tour bus because that kind of feels like home. You know, I'm just glad that I had the two days off. So I feel much more relaxed out there.

Q. Keep playing well. Thanks for the time.
JASON DAY: Thank you.

Q. Jason, where's your wife from?
JASON DAY: She's from Lucas, Ohio, which is near Mansfield, little podunk town.

Q. So four of the last five holes, couple of birdies and an eagle. Nice way to wrap up the round. Probably didn't want to get off the course, did you?
JASON DAY: You know, I was getting a little hungry. So I wanted to get off the course as quick as I could. I finished off well. I'm happy about that.
I didn't start too well, but I came home strong. So I think I put myself in a pretty good position for the weekend. Two days left.

Q. What are some of the things you wanted to work on to get yourself on top of the leaderboard now?
JASON DAY: I want to try to work on a little bit of my swing over the next couple of days. I'm just not quite as confident with my swing as I have been in the past. I'm chipping and putting the ball great. I just need to work on my swing a little bit better. You know, contact and time it a little bit better.
Hopefully, over the weekend, I'll have a good crack at the leader.

Q. Greens are playing fast. That's something for your game, isn't it?
JASON DAY: Yeah, I know. The greens are playing really quick out there, especially with the rain that we had. The greens are still running quick. You know, the rough is very thick around the greens.
So you've got to make sure you hit a lot of greens out there. If you're not, you want to make sure you're getting up and down.

Q. That quick turnaround with late last night early today, how difficult is that mentally and physically?
JASON DAY: It's quite difficult mentally and physically because you get back -- you know, it was like 10:00, 11:00 when I got to sleep. We didn't get done until around 8:45. So I left the course here at 8:45. It was really tough.
I went back and had some food and then pretty much went to bed. So it was just really tough because of the delay.
You know, staying in the tour bus this week was really good. So, you know, kind of relaxed me a little bit more.

Q. When did you buy it?
JASON DAY: Bought it the week of Byron.

Q. After you won?
JASON DAY: No, before.

Q. So you had to win?
JASON DAY: Yeah, I had to win. Exactly right, yeah.

Q. This isn't a tournament that guys in their 20s have normally won, except for Tiger, of course.
JASON DAY: Exactly, yeah.

Q. I'm just wondering with you and Rickie up there -- I'm not saying that you're bad players, but with the local knowledge involved on this course, have the conditions maybe let you get away with a little bit more?
JASON DAY: It just depends on what kind of game you play. Just depends if you want to take a little bit more risk than reward, risk/reward kind of shots, or if you want to be disciplined and try to hit to the middle of the greens.
Obviously, Rickie must be striking the ball really well and putting really great. I really haven't seen him play this week, but obviously he's got his game intact.
I think the more greens you hit here, the better because it's just -- you know, if you miss the greens, it's just brutal. You know, you have to hit a really, really good shot to get it close to the hole.

Q. What's been the key for your play? What's been enabling you to play on this course so well?
JASON DAY: If I miss a green, I've been getting it up, which is great. So I think I want to work a little bit on my swing and try to hit a few more greens than I did today. That would be nice. I played well the first day. So hopefully I can just kind of keep the momentum rolling in my direction over the weekend.

Q. All things being equal, are you glad that you played early today as opposed to late?
JASON DAY: Yeah, I'm glad I played early today. I can get a little bit of practice in this afternoon and just relax.

Q. What about in terms of the rain?
JASON DAY: I heard it's supposed to get pretty windy this afternoon. That kind of goes for those who played earlier, into our favor. Think it's going to be a little bit tougher out there. The greens are certainly drying up, and they're certainly getting a lot quicker. We'll see how it goes.

Q. (Indiscernible.)
JASON DAY: Little bit at the end. It wasn't too bad, you know.

Q. You said you're 22?
JASON DAY: Yes.

Q. "Caddyshack" is 30 years old this week. Have you watched that movie?
JASON DAY: Yes, I finally watched it this year actually. I've never seen it in my life. Finally this year I actually watched it.

Q. Did you like it?
JASON DAY: Loved it. I just loved it. It's so good.

Q. Anything stand out that you recall?
JASON DAY: When Dangerfield goes -- what's he say? He goes, "Cute kid, now I know why lions eat their babies." That was really good.

Q. When you came out in Australia, there was obviously a lot of hype around your start of your career. I read somewhere where you were saying that you needed -- after maybe a year or so, you needed to kind of re-dedicate yourself to the game because you weren't practicing. What was going on that time and why have you been able to improve?
JASON DAY: The first year I was out, like I didn't practice. The second year, I worked a lot harder, and I worked smarter. You know, this year I've been doing some of the same.
I've been actually working a lot harder than I did. You know, talent can only take you so far, and I'm just -- you know, I'm just trying to work and just trying to improve each and every week. If I can learn something each and every week and improve just a little bit.
I know that I'm a better player this year than I was last year. I just want to keep moving forward and just kind of, you know, improving my weaknesses by just maintaining my strengths.

Q. When you say you didn't practice -- that was probably a little bit figurative and not literally.
JASON DAY: It would be more like two or three hours a day. Now it's more I spend -- I spend maybe four or five, six hours a day, just depending. And I might play golf as well.

Q. Did someone light a fire under you? At what point do you take stock in what you're doing and saying something has to be better? Did someone come to you?
JASON DAY: My coach Colin Swatton. He's on the bag as well. He said you need to practice harder. You need to practice on these things, like my weaknesses, and he goes this is what you need to practice. You need to practice harder if you want to keep your card.

Q. Is that tough to hear when there is so much hype surrounding you?
JASON DAY: It is tough. Yeah, you know, it is tough because a lot of kids, it's hard to listen. It's very hard to -- even if you're old and you're an adult, it's hard to listen to, you know, the advice because a lot of people don't like to be told what to do.
And it was hard for me just to take that advice, but I've always listened pretty well to my coach, and I've always wanted to improve, you know, over every year. And I know that I trust him fully with everything that he tells me, and anything that he tells me, I do straightaway.

End of FastScripts




About ASAP SportsFastScripts ArchiveRecent InterviewsCaptioningUpcoming EventsContact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297