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JOHN DEERE CLASSICJuly 7, 2010Jason DaySILVIS, ILLINOIS DOUG MILNE: I'd like to welcome Jason Day to the interview room. Jason picked up his first win last month at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Jason, if you'd kind of talk a little bit about how your year's going so far and your thoughts coming into this week. JASON DAY: Yeah. I obviously got off to a slow start and been pretty sick the last four and a half months before I found out what was going on. So I'm just trying to medically get this chronic sinus infection gone. You know, if I can't do it, then they're going to have to do it surgically and go up through the nose and try and suck out all the gunk. My left maxillary sinus was 100 percent blocked. So you know, hopefully we can get it done medically, but if not, we'll go in there surgically. But no, the year's been going good. Obviously I came through with a win at the Byron Nelson, which was really nice; and I had a nice Top 10 last week, and I just want to keep -- just slow steps, but I know it's going to be a slow process, just try and get back into the winner's circle. So as long as I keep doing the right things, I think over the next seven or eight tournaments, seven tournaments I'm going to play, hopefully I can come through with a win in the next few tournaments, which would be nice. DOUG MILNE: Thank you. Questions. Q. Jason, do you feel a sense of loyalty to this event? I think you were 18 years old when you won your first TOUR check here. JASON DAY: Yeah. Q. Is there a loyalty? JASON DAY: Yeah, there certainly is. Obviously Clair Peterson gave me a sponsor's exemption back in 2006, and this is my fourth year coming back, and I still think if I did -- it's so easy to get from here to the British, if I was playing in the British, obviously because they have that charter plane. So I do see myself coming back here most years, coming back here in the future, which is nice, and everyone's been so nice here. Actually I love this place. It's really quiet here, which is nice. It's low key, and the people are really, really, really polite and kind, which is good. This is one of the stops that I really enjoy coming back to. Q. Speaking of the British, I believe you're No. 1 alternate right now? JASON DAY: Uh-huh. Q. How much is that on your mind, and did you bring your passport? JASON DAY: I did not bring my passport. I had no idea I was first alternate. So I've gotta get that sent up, and I've gotta get one of my friends back home to break in my house somehow and get my passport. But it's exciting, obviously if I get into, I'm going to go, obviously because I'm first alternate. You never know what's going to happen. But just to see St. Andrews is going to be a thrill. I've can't wait. I'm really pumped for it. Q. Also to follow up, a Top 5 finish here could potentially get you into it, too. JASON DAY: Yeah. Right. That's the thing. I'll try to focus on that more than trying to get into the British. You know, if I finish well here, I know that if I finish in the Top 5 here, I've got a really good chance of getting into the British. And obviously that's playing on my mind a little bit, but when it comes Thursday, you've got a job to do. Q. You're part of the 20-somethings here on the TOUR, a lot of you guys have won on TOUR. Is that testimony to the depth of the talent or what do you think accounts for that? JASON DAY: I think a lot of the younger guys are becoming more fearless when it becomes to -- before, a lot of guys would stay through to college and finish their college life off and then they'd turn professional, and they would be like maybe 22, 23, sometimes even 24 if they got in late. But you know, Rickie Fowler, he turned pro after one or two years of college, and there's a bunch of guys that do that now; and that's just where golf is going these days. You know, it's how young you can get into it, you know, and I believe that the sooner you turn professional, if you're ready, the better off you are, because you're playing against the guys -- you're playing against tougher competition. You're playing against the guys that you're going to be playing against in the future, and it's better off playing professional golf than, I think, amateur golf. Q. How do you find this course? You keep coming back here. What about this course challenges your game? (Indiscernible). JASON DAY: It's pretty tough. I was a little dizzy last week on some shots, but you know, it's been -- I think I'm finally getting used to it, and I'm finally getting used to what it feels like to have this chronic sinus infection. Q. You have to think how good you might be doing if you didn't have the sinus infection. JASON DAY: That's a good question. I have no idea. Q. Maybe you better keep it up. JASON DAY: Yeah. Maybe I oughta keep this thing. Exactly what you said, how well would I be doing if I didn't have this, and that's up in the air. Obviously I may not have fought as hard at the Byron Nelson. Obviously I nearly pulled out of the Byron Nelson and I may not have fought as hard going down the stretch if I didn't have this maybe. I don't know. Q. Is there a weird thing to trying so hard not to let it bother you or help your concentration? JASON DAY: Yeah. You're trying to focus on the shot at hand, and I think when you're out there and you're competing and you're in contention, you kind of get in your own little world and you try and just focus on your shot and nothing else. And that kind of takes everything away from this, from the scoreboards, from your playing partners, everything. And you know, I enjoy coming back to this golf course as well, you know. Obviously, you know, John Deere does a great job, you know, obviously getting this course in shape. You know, obviously it's really, really tough because, you know the scores are so low, so you gotta be on your game. You know, you just gotta look at Steve Stricker winning. He came out and shot 61 in the second round, and you gotta have everything going well this week to win this tournament. Q. What would be the time table for when you would decide whether you need surgery? Is it six months, five weeks, is it after the PGA? JASON DAY: Yeah, I think I gotta go back in for a CAT scan and see if it's done anything, if the medicine has actually done anything to it. If not, then I'll probably go. It's only like maybe a two-hour surgery. They put you to sleep, which is good, and then they go in and suck it out, but I think the recovery time is like maybe a day or so, which is good. So it's very easy, you know. I'll probably do it in one of the off weeks, if I get a chance to. Q. Is there anything about the abundance of Australians not on TOUR but even the dozen or so that are out here this week? JASON DAY: Right. It's good to see a lot of the younger guys coming out. Obviously I think we have like maybe 22, 23 million people in Australia, and just the level of play out here is fantastic. And you know, the guys are great. I enjoy hanging out with a lot of them. I always go and have lunch with them, and it's just good to see because there's guys out here that you can relate to and joke around with and take a pick at each other, which is good. Q. What environment conditions bother you the most on the course? Humidity? Rain? JASON DAY: I think when it's real muggy outside. I don't know if there's -- and even when there's a lot of like pollen and stuff out there. I think it gets in there and makes me a little dizzy as well. Q. Can you talk about what Colin Swatton has meant to you? I think he's been with you since the very beginning. JASON DAY: Yeah. Obviously he's a big part of Jason Day, and Jason Day's business itself. He's been with me since I was 11 and a half, 12, so we're going on 11 years now, which is a long relationship. And you know, we've learned a lot about each other, which is good. And you know, he's always willing to improve himself as a person, as a caddie, as a coach, and he's always there to help me to improve as a person and as a golfer as well. And I think we have a really, really solid relationship when it comes to, you know, caddie and player and best friends and then, you know, taking time away from each other, because I've spent a lot of time with that guy and sometimes we get on each other's nerves, which is not too good. But he's been a lot -- he's kind of filled in as a father figure as well. You know, he's been there through my ups and downs, and you know, I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for that guy. Q. What would you say is the biggest difference in your game now versus when you first came on TOUR as a teenager? JASON DAY: I think I've improved as a player overall. You know, obviously my driving stats aren't that great, you know. I'd like to improve my accuracy a little bit. I was a lot more accurate a couple of years ago. But I think, you know, my chipping and my putting has really improved, but I think over time the experience of playing competitive golf and being in contention and playing against, you know, the top class golfers that we have over here and obviously around the world, I think the biggest thing is experience, you know, just knowing what to do in certain situations. And just maturing as a golfer. And you know, with one win under my belt, I don't want to just kind of peel out and you never see me again. So I want us to improve and try and do the right things and work on the right things. I want to be smart about my practice plans and where my plan is as a golfer and as a person, where I see myself in 5, 10, 15, 20 years from now. Q. I know you're focused on this week and next week obviously, but just looking ahead to the PGA, do you know anything about Whistling Straits? Have you heard anything about it? JASON DAY: No. I'm going to play at the Akron tournament, and I won't probably get up there early, but I really haven't -- I've only seen a few pictures. I've only seen a few holes, obviously back when they played the PGA there I think -- Q. '04. JASON DAY: '04. And yeah, I'm not too sure about it at all. All I know is it's pretty tough. So I'm looking forward to it. DOUG MILNE: Okay. Thanks a lot, Jason. JASON DAY: No problem. Cheers. End of FastScripts |
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