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MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 10, 2011

Jason Day

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA

Q. Heck of an effort out there.
JASON DAY: Yeah, me and Scottie played wonderfully today. We couldn't do anything else. Obviously in the heat of the moment, 15 would have been a good birdie chance, but unfortunately I didn't birdie that one. I played great all week, and I'm very happy in my first Masters finish tied second. So I'm not disappointed, I'm happy where I finished. Hats off to Charl for playing so well.

Q. How did you find the atmosphere out there? Could you keep track of any of it?
JASON DAY: A little bit, but it just seemed like nearly every hole there was a scream from another hole. It was very exciting out there today. I'm very happy with how cool I kept myself. I'm very proud of that. I'm just very, very happy right now.

Q. What did you hit into 18? You did everything you could do there; beautiful shot, beautiful putt.
JASON DAY: Yeah, I had 142 yards to the pin, and I hit a 48-degree wedge. I just wanted to start it right and just draw it back a little bit. Hit it just above the hole and hit a great putt to eight feet.

Q. Have you ever been in a situation where there was so much going on in a tournament like this?
JASON DAY: No, never. And the crowd makes it 100 times more than that because they're just -- everyone is screaming and it's just a lot of fun.

Q. So much is made of experience here. You just step right in and contend the first time around. What do you attribute that to?
JASON DAY: You know, just a lot of help. Nick Faldo helped me a lot. I had a caddie here that's been caddying for 19 years, Col Swatton, my caddie, he helped me out a lot when I came out, and obviously we had a game plan at the start of the week and we stuck to it, and it worked out great. Just looking forward to the rest of the year. I'm looking forward to coming back next year.

Q. You had a couple of nervous shots early but you shook those off and still birdied the second hole. How important was that?
JASON DAY: It was very important to come back after that hole. Obviously I didn't hit the best drive on the 2nd hole, down the right, and then hooked my second shot and got lucky, and then I came back with a nice wedge shot. That kind of calmed me down. I started playing a little better after that, which was nice.

Q. The shot on 11, that was --
JASON DAY: Oh, yeah, if it didn't cut too much, I had 176 yards to the pin, and if it didn't cut -- if it didn't cut enough, it would have been in the water, and then obviously the tournament probably wouldn't have been the way it finished. But I pulled off a great shot there, and I was very happy that it finished above the hole, and just barely missed the putt, too.

Q. Did you feel the support of all the Aussies in the crowd?
JASON DAY: Yeah, massive, massive group of Aussies following. It was great. You know, me and Adam had a chance to be the first Australians to win the Masters, and unfortunately we came up a couple short. But we did everything we could, and the Aussies were back behind us, which was fantastic.

Q. You've only played in three majors and contended in the thick of it in two. What have you learned about yourself in those situations?
JASON DAY: I know that I can contend against this caliber of field. I've always had that little doubt in the back of my mind that I could really contend against a strong field like this, but the last two majors have been wonderful for me, and I'm just looking forward to the future, obviously playing a lot more majors, and it's just fun to be in the thick of things when it comes down to a major.

Q. Was that Thursday-Friday pairing kind of nice, too?
JASON DAY: Yeah, definitely. I've had magnificent pairings this Masters, my first Masters. All good buddies of mine that I've played golf with for a long, long time. It wasn't too much of a shock.

Q. Were you surprised after playing two days with Rory what he did what he did today?
JASON DAY: I'm very surprised. He played wonderfully the first three days, and he didn't miss a beat. If he missed a shot, like he missed it in the right spot, got up-and-down. He's definitely going to come back and he's going to win a lot of majors, going to win a lot of tournaments, just the player he is. Obviously he's put himself here, and he's put himself in contention in a lot of majors before. It's unfortunate the way he played today, but you're going to see a lot of Rory.

Q. The confidence this gives you must be immense looking forward to other majors.
JASON DAY: You know what, I'm just looking forward to just having a week off next week. You know, I'm very happy with the way I played, so obviously it gives me a bit of a confidence boost going to upcoming tournaments, and I'm just happy.

Q. That 18th hole is one you'll remember for a long time.
JASON DAY: Yeah.

Q. A lot of confidence from that alone?
JASON DAY: Yeah, that tee shot is -- it's a pretty tough tee shot, especially when you're hitting driver up there. It gets really tight up there. Scottie hit 3-wood off there. If you hit in that first bunker it's very tough to get home, so I knew I had to get a good tee shot away, and standing on 17 I just said, four more good swings, and I did that, which was good.

Q. Do you know anything about Charl, his game, or --
JASON DAY: Not really. He's been on the European Tour now for a little bit, and obviously you're going to see a lot of him on the PGA TOUR, as well. That's phenomenal; to not make a bogey in the last round of a major is pretty damned good.

Q. You must be very proud of what has been an incredible Sunday here at Augusta.
JASON DAY: Yeah, it's been very exciting. I'm glad I did all that good out there, and I'm very happy with how I played, and I'm very happy with how everything went. Obviously it must have looked great on TV. I'm sure it did. Yeah, I'm just glad that we put on a good show for the people.

Q. It was a driver off the tee on 18?
JASON DAY: Driver on 18.

Q. And that putt on 17, you rolled that pretty good speed.
JASON DAY: Yeah, it was going -- if it missed, it probably would have been six foot past, so I had to hit the hole.

Q. Are you pleased with the way you putted today?
JASON DAY: I missed a few, but I didn't hit them as close as I did the second day. But I'm very happy with the way I putted. I needed to -- I knew when I got out of the gates I needed to focus a little more on my line, on where I needed to roll the ball. I didn't really do that yesterday, and that's why I didn't putt as good.
You know, it worked out great. I putted good.

Q. Was it easier playing with someone you knew so well on the last day?
JASON DAY: Oh, yes, definitely. Me and Scottie go way back, and like I said, we've had magnificent pairings.

Q. You and Adam talked yesterday about what it would mean for Australia for one of you to win today. Was it hard to be heartbroken given how well you both played?
JASON DAY: Yeah, me and Adam, you can see that we're disappointed in the scoring, but you can't be unhappy that someone is playing good. I'm happy that Charl won, but obviously we're going to be coming back to the Masters next year, and we're going to be trying to win that one.

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