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MASTERS TOURNAMENTApril 12, 2013Jason DayAUGUSTA, GEORGIA THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome leader in the clubhouse, Jason Day of Australia, to the interview room. Jason posted a fine 68 on top of his 70 in the first round and finds himself in the lead at 6‑under. His best appearance was a couple years ago where he tied for second in 2011. Let's open it up to questions. Q. What a difference 12 months makes. At this time last year you had already holed off left and you were gone; big difference. JASON DAY: Yeah, I wish I could have played through the pain of last year, but it was unfortunate that I had the injury. But it's really good to be back here. And obviously being on top of the leaderboard right now is a great honor to have, and really looking forward to getting out there the next two days and playing well. I'm just very, very tired. We had almost a six‑hour round out there today and it was very, very difficult. It was a big grind out there. Q. You obviously made a good run a couple years ago as you mentioned. Why do you think you're better prepared to contend on the weekend now than you were two years ago? JASON DAY: Obviously this week is different. I was just saying earlier, when it comes to the weekend, I know there's a lot of good players behind me that are going to play well. I just have to stay patient and just focus on what I'm doing, and really not worry about anyone else. I think if I can go out there and commit to the game plan that me and Cole have obviously worked on over the last year, two years, going into this weekend, hopefully I can be there come Sunday. It would be really, really nice. Obviously there's a lot of pressure on my shoulders, being from Australia and no Australian has ever won the event. They have been very, very close, but I've just got to try to get that out of my mind and just plug away. Q. Two years ago and this year, you've admitted coming in here playing very average golf. JASON DAY: Yeah. Q. Is there a similarity here, being able to turn it on? JASON DAY: Yeah, playing average two years ago coming in, and not playing too bad coming into this week. Just a couple of high finishes. I had a good couple weeks off. Got here last Friday and prepared very nicely. I played the course Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, and I think our game plan is working really nice. I've just got to go out there and really commit to the game plan tomorrow. I know there's going to be a lot of pressure. I said earlier, I was talking to Cole, and it just feels like every shot is the biggest shot you've ever hit in your life out there. It's really, really difficult, and you know, I'm just glad to be in the clubhouse right now. Q. Could you describe bouncing back from what happened on 12, getting the birdie on 13, and also 16, as well? JASON DAY: I mean, had the right club. It just‑‑ when I was going through impact, I just felt like the clubface was just slightly open. And as soon as I hit it, I knew it was going to stay out there. Unfortunately it just didn't have enough power to get over the water. It was actually a very, very good up‑and‑down to get up‑and‑down there for bogey. Obviously moving on to the next hole, 13, I just had to get a 4‑wood around the corner. Hit a nice drive there and hit a good second shot from 216 to just the right side of the green. And it's very difficult when you're playing that hole, once the shade hits the greens. You can't really see where the slopes are, if it's severe or not so severe; if it goes up and over the slope, and actually my putt passed about eight feet and luckily enough I holed a good putt coming back down the hill. Q. What is it about this place that brings out the best in you? JASON DAY: My favorite tournament of the year. I love this place. And everything that I can do, I want to peak at this event, because it's just the best tournament in the world and I really enjoy it, coming back here and playing and playing in front of the Patrons and just really, like I said before, it's a real honor to obviously play this event. Not many people get to say that they have had the lead a couple of times at the Masters. I'm just really looking forward to the challenge over the weekend. Q. When you talk about your game plan, what's been sort of the strength of your game over these two rounds, do you think? JASON DAY: I've been trying to instead of follow the corners here, been trying to hit to the corners. I think a lot of people try and work on the draw shot. I think if‑‑ obviously you need to hit it both ways here, but if you're hitting a nice fade to the corners or even a straight shot to the corners and not try to hug the corners so much; if you look at 13, for instance, you try to draw it down there, everything slopes to the water. So if you're hitting a draw around there and you get a little left, it's all going to kick down to the water there. So I'm really just trying to play it to the corners, and it's really all about the second shots here. I think if you put yourself in the right position on the greens, you can go out there and think it's the easiest golf course in the world. But, you know, obviously there's a lot of tough pins out there, and if you leave yourself above the pins all day, it's the hardest place to play. Q. What were the most difficult things for you to deal with today on the golf course specifically? JASON DAY: Obviously the weather was probably the biggest factor. Trying to stay committed to the shot knowing that, you know‑‑ right before I hit my shot on 12, it was in off the right. And when I hit, when I was right about to hit my shot, it was down off the left. So it swirls so much there. And just going and being able to commit to the shot, trusting that the wind is in off the right there, or different holes, trusting that the wind is doing what it is doing, is the biggest key. Obviously you need a good short game around here, and I think the short game was nice today. I putted great today, which was good. Q. You mentioned pressure being an Australian, but isn't it also an opportunity to be the first Australian? JASON DAY: Yes, definitely. It's all how you look at it. If you look at it as pressure, you're going to worry about it more. If you look at it as a challenge and an opportunity to be the first and stay positive with it, you know, it only motivates you to play well. So I've just got to really not think about it at all. I really need to, like I said, stay committed to the game plan, stay aggressive to my target, and really aim small, miss small out there. Just not really worry about anything else but hitting the shot in front of me. Q. You're playing with a man who is more than twice your age tomorrow. Have you ever played a round of golf with Fred Couples or even had a conversation with him? JASON DAY: Yes, Freddie was the captain that beat us in The Presidents Cup down in Oz. We've had a couple of talks since then. Yeah, I played with him in L.A., I think it was a year or two years ago. Just an amazing guy. A guy, I'm not too sure how old he is, he's in his 50s, but the guy can still move the ball a long, long way, can still hit great shots. It's just great to see him up on the leaderboard. Really excited to play with him tomorrow. He's such a great guy, and you know, I'm hoping that he plays well. Q. You mentioned earlier all the good players behind you, and obviously one of those in the mix is Tiger, and given the way he's played the last couple months, how much of a presence does he still command among players like you? JASON DAY: Well, going back two years ago in the final round, he was 5‑under through nine holes, so I mean, he can make it up in nine holes. I really‑‑ I don't need to worry about him. The moment I start worrying about other players is the moment I start losing focus on what I need to do, and when I do that, I'll start making bogeys. So you know, it's obviously great to have the lead. I'm very excited for the challenge over the next two days. You know, it's exciting, it really is exciting to have the opportunity to win the Masters. I'm very, very happy where I am right now. Q. What did you say you hit the second shot on 13, and did you hit driver off of 18? JASON DAY: Second shot, I had 216 yards to the pin. And the funny thing around here at Augusta is that if you keep it below the trees when it's windy, it won't get affected. If you hit it above the trees, that's when the ball starts getting affected by the wind and sometimes it will pull up short or go long. I knew that we had 200 yards to the front edge, and I was pumped. I was amped after the shot that I hit on the tee. I hit a 4‑wood, just a nice drawing 4‑wood just around the corner there. I was thinking about hitting 5‑iron, but I knew that if I hit 5‑iron, it will come out a little higher. And I needed to hit a little lower, make sure that the wind wasn't going to affect that second shot. Q. So you hit 4‑iron? JASON DAY: Yeah, I hit 4‑iron there, and I hit driver on 18. Q. Why did it go? Did you pull it a little or were you just pumped and hit it a little farther? JASON DAY: On 18? I tried to hit a cut up there, and I just hit it dead straight and it went in the bunker. You know, I hit a good second shot out of there and made a par. Q. Expand a little bit more on your thought and why is it that you get the feeling that every shot here is the biggest shot of your life? JASON DAY: I don't know, that's just the way it feels. Obviously today was a little bit more obviously because of the wind and how tough the conditions were. For some reason when Phil said, "I'm going to go out there and attack the pins" yesterday, for some reason I knew that the greens were going to be firm and it was going to be tough (laughter). So I was hoping that he didn't say anything like that. It's really difficult because it's a major. There's so many people watching you hit your shots, so many people watching you hit your shots around the world, because it is, by far, probably one of the biggest tournaments to watch on TV. So there's obviously a lot of pressure there. I was just trying to breathe as much as I could to keep myself down and as level as I could. I played great today, so you know, just really looking forward to the weekend. Q. I don't know if you're up to speed on Guan, the 14‑year‑old, was assessed a slow play penalty today. If you had gotten a 7, he would have missed the cut. He's in, though. I'm just wondering what your reaction was given the conditions? JASON DAY: He had a penalty for slow play? Wow. Q. Given the conditions today, I'm just wondering your reaction would be? JASON DAY: That's amazing. Q. On the 17th hole. JASON DAY: No, the kid's got nothing to lose. He's 14 years old. He's got everything to gain and nothing to lose, because he's got a lot of growing to do. He's still in school. Obviously it's an amazing achievement to get to the weekend at Augusta. And being able to play and experience what he's going to experience on the weekend, you can't buy that stuff. You really‑‑ the only way you can do that is get to the weekend, and obviously he's got a boatload of talent. You know, he was here‑‑ he's been here preparing for two weeks. I talked to him earlier, and he seems like a really, really good kid. It's unfortunate that he received the penalty, but he can learn from that and move on and hopefully can play well over the next two days. Q. You mentioned the nearly six‑hour round. Any thoughts on slow play generally? JASON DAY: I felt like I played pretty slow out there today. But we couldn't go any faster than the guys in front, and they weren't too far ahead of us. When it means everything to you, you're going to try and do the best you can to play well. And whether that makes you, you know, weigh or discuss ten seconds more or 20 seconds more on a shot, you're going to do it. Because at the end of the day, no one is really going to think about how slow you played if you win the tournament. Everyone is going to think about how well you played winning the event. Hopefully the weather can be‑‑ hopefully there's not hardly any wind tomorrow so it could all speed up play a little bit. But just really looking forward like I said before. THE MODERATOR: Thank you and best of luck tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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