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WGC CADILLAC CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 4, 2014Jason DayMIAMI, FLORIDA LAURA NEAL:  We welcome Jason Day to the interview room. Talk to us about coming here with a World Golf Championships title under your belt and preparing to take on the Cadillac Championship. JASON DAY: Yeah, it was a long day the last time we saw each other. To be able to play as well as I did during that week was very special. You know, the match, like I said that week, the match kind of went on a little bit longer than I expected. Very excited to get here this week. I know the course is different. It's like we are playing a brand new course because really, the layout of‑‑ there's some similar holes to where the layout was last year, but it's practically a brand new 18 holes with all the greens and the bunkering and all the work that they have put into it. I mean, Gil and Donald have done a phenomenal job really making this course into a championship course that's one of‑‑ probably one of the most difficult golf courses that we play all year. But you know, to have a WGC event under my belt now definitely is motivating for more hard work and practice and dedication in my game, and then we'll see how it goes this week. Q. Obviously with your strong finishes at the majors and the Match Play championship, do you think the bigger tournaments bring out the best in your game? JASON DAY: I think so. I just‑‑ I've always liked competing against the best players, which is the hardest fields in golf with a lot of people watching.  For some reason, it just always gets me going. Everything means‑‑ at these events like the majors and WGC events, if you play well, you can move yourself up the rankings pretty quick. I mean, make a good example, winning the WGC event, the Match Play, moving from 11 to 4, it was one of my goals to get in the top 5 this year, and winning that event shot me to No. 4. I mean, I don't want to stop there, but you know, I just love playing in front of a lot of people on the big stage. I really like hitting clutch shots and mowing that I can hit those shots. It's like watching Rory the other day on the 18th hole, knowing that he had to hit a good shot in there to give himself a chance of either getting in the playoff or winning the tournament. Shots like that is what you practice for. I hit a lot of great shots at the Match Play and I've hit a lot of great shots in the past during major tournaments, and that's what we practice for as golfers, really. Q. Going back to the golf course, you said it's more difficult. Have you had a chance to play it? JASON DAY: Yeah, I played nine holes Sunday. I got here‑‑ when did I get here‑‑ I actually got here Thursday night. Practiced Friday, Saturday, and then played nine holes Sunday and nine holes yesterday. I mean, straight out of the blocks, it's so different. Just the way the course layout is, is totally‑‑ I mean, everything, because you can't carry the bunkers anymore. Before, you know, there was a certain percentage of us going into last year's golf course that could carry the bunkers, could make the golf course a lot easier. But really, the distances, it's not about‑‑ if you can carry 320 yards, then it's all about distance. But most of the bunkers are at 300 to 320 carry from the back tees and it's very difficult. Now, granted, the fairway bunkers, you can still get to the greens. I don't think they are so severe which is a good thing because of the course, they have lengthened the course a lot. But you know, saying that, I think it's‑‑ the rough isn't as up as I'd expect it. Obviously it's a brand new course, but the rough is a little patchy. It's probably a premium to hit the fairways this week. Q. Does harder equate to better? JASON DAY: I'll tell you after the week (laughter). You know, the Blue Monster was always a tough golf course. I just think they made it tougher. I was talking to my coach, my caddie, Cole about it. It really depends how they set the course up and obviously weather. If we have windy conditions, which we normally do here, then it's very tough. The northeast wind from 18, they lengthened the hole, it's a 300‑yard carry left over the water now, and that's not including the wind. They have added mounds to the right there with a lot more trees. So you have to really kind of‑‑ you're either going to blow it way, way right on to the first fairway, which it's not easy now because they have added bunkers there, as well, so you really have to kind of hit a good shot down 18. Q. You mentioned in Tucson that in the final match, you felt like you were going to have a heart attack out there a couple of times. How do you manage the adrenaline and the emotions when you are in contention on a Sunday? JASON DAY: Yeah, it's just past experiences being there.  I was talking to someone yesterday about the Match Play is such valuable experience playing all rounds there because normally tournament weeks, you play and if you're in contention on Sunday, that's when you get the most experience of being able to handle yourself under the pump and what you feel and all the emotions that go through your body, really, the back nine. But every day at the Match Play felt like Sunday, so, yeah, having six rounds of match play that felt like Sunday every day is valuable experience, and that's just the way I looked at it. You know, in the past, I've played some pretty good golf on some big stages, and I just‑‑ I think the biggest keys me and Cole talked about, the biggest keys were communication, more so communicating between me and him, making sure that if I feel uncomfortable, I communicate more. So communication is key for us. Then there's the mind, just making sure that, you know, it was going to be a long week; doesn't matter how long it was going to go. It wasn't going to stop until I won. And then the recovery, just active recovery, really, was huge for me. It finally has taken me at least, what this is my seventh season out on the PGA TOUR to finally understand how to communicate to Cole and how big that is to me and him to really understand that the more information that we gather, the better. That kind of puts my mind at ease and I can go out and just hit the shot instead of thinking, you know, maybe if I hit this too hard, it will go over the back and then I hit it too hard and it goes over the back. That was huge for me. Q. In what ways are you a better player than you were in 2010, and in what ways are you better equipped to handle the aftermath of winning than maybe you were in 2010? JASON DAY: Every year we have a team meeting. We go over the stats and we go over everything, the mind, the body, the stats. I bring in everyone that's in my team and we look at it. We look at every single stat, and then we look at the golf courses, as well, that we've played. From there, we evaluate and then write down some goals and then try and get better at the weaknesses while maintaining the strengths. You have to put a lot of hours into the practice, but you really have to stay motivated. That's the only way to stay motivated is through goals, really trying to improve yourself as a player, as a person, trying to find that balance between family time and golf. Golf is very time consuming, so there has to be a balance between having family time and then practicing, as well, because you can't just‑‑ golfers, I think in general, athletes are a little bit more on the selfish side of things, because to perform; you're paid to perform. Especially in golf, if you don't play well, then you're off the TOUR. That's why you have to put so many hours in. Like I said, we sit down every year and look at what we need to improve and go from there. Really, from there, it's up to me to put in the hours. Hard work and dedication gets you as far as you want in golf. If you want it enough, you've just got to go out and put the time in. Q. Sounds like you watched the end of the Honda the other day‑‑ JASON DAY: Yes. Q. Just wondering what your impression was of how things went down there, and Russell surviving, Rory struggling. When you're watching that as a fan, do you still get a rush in terms of‑‑ JASON DAY: I know exactly how they are feeling. Sometimes you feel like you just want to curl up and run away. Some days you go out there and you feel like you can stay out there forever and play golf and it doesn't matter what golf course is in front of you. But watching the finish, I mean, Russell notch hitting in the water on I think 15, and Henley chipping in on 15 and then hitting in the water on‑‑ no, it was 14. And then Henley hitting in the water on 15 and McIlroy hitting in the water on 16, and Ryan Palmer almost hit it in the water on 18. It's not easy to win. You guys have been blessed by seeing Tiger Woods win for so many years and being No. 1 for I think 12 years now that people in general think it's easy to win. It's hard. It's not easy to go out there and just do it. I mean, McIlroy played flawless golf over the first three days, and once again, The Honda Classic, the PGA National, is not an easy golf course. There's a lot of water everywhere. The finish is very tough. The back nine is very, very brutal. You get any sort of wind that's kind of swirling around and it makes it very tough. We're trying to strive‑‑ well, I'm trying to strive to become Tiger Woods or in my own words, Jason Day. I would love to win as many times as he is, but there's just that human error that you have. Like I said, so many years we've watched Tiger do it so easy and hit so many clutch shots that people expect everyone on the PGA TOUR should be doing that. And that's why we practice so hard. We want to do it and we want to do it a lot and we want to win. You know, for me, I've only won twice, but it's about the work and time that I put into it. But it was stressful for me to watch the guys, because I know exactly what they are going through and I know they just want to get it in and finish and finish well. I think it was exciting to see the four‑man playoff. Q. Victor is coming in here later today. Do those up‑and‑downs in the playoff still pop up in your head, and do you think he can continue rising up in the World Rankings? JASON DAY: Right, yeah, I think so. Someone told me that his name, Dubuisson, it actually means "the bush." That's very fitting, right? (Laughter). I didn't realize until‑‑ even his handle on his Twitter account is @Vdubush. He's got so much potential, and once again, it's all about how much he wants it. He looks like he's playing some phenomenal golf. Look, he beat Tiger last year in Turkey and got through some pretty tough players at the Match Play.       Short game is really‑‑ from what I heard, he used to be a little hot‑headed on the golf course, and now he's kind of taken that under control and seems like he's playing a lot more golf, a lot better golf now. And he's only 23; I mean, the guy is so young. Seems like he looks older with the beard and everything. He's got so much potential there, it's frightening. Q. Do you think about them, do those up‑and‑downs pop up in your head? JASON DAY: Yeah, every now and then. I don't like to but you saw my face, I didn't actually realize I was making that face until I saw the replay (laughter). I'm just glad it's done and I don't have to go through it again. Because, I mean, what are the chances of that happening, really. I mean, two times in a row, I'm sitting there going‑‑ the first one, I'm going, okay, well, maybe it's luck. Sometimes you hit in the trees and you just hit it and it hits a tree and goes on the green somehow. But I mean, the second time, I'm just thinking, oh, man, this guy won't go away, I'm going to have to win this thing now. Q. Speaking of that, the way you handled the pressure at the Match Play, at Augusta, you birdied three in a row and you bogeyed 16 and 17, and you made a comment that the pressure might have gotten to you a little bit. Do you think if you're in that position now, was that sort of a breakthrough maybe at the Match Play for you? JASON DAY: I think if I had that opportunity again, I think I would have slowed everything down. And even still in the Match Play, I tried to hit a little too hard coming down the stretch. That's probably one of my problems is I go at the ball a little bit too hard. At the Masters, 16, I just was, like you said, the pressure did get a little bit to me. Being in that situation was an amazing feeling going through my body. The rush that I got through my body after I birdied 15 was amazing. To have the lead there and go, oh, man, I only have three holes left; if I can play well from here, I'll be the first Australian to win it. It was an amazing feeling. I was so pumped and so amped that it got to me that I hit a 7‑iron over the back there, which normally I would be hitting 7‑iron just getting to the pin. I think if I was in that situation again, I probably would have slowed down a lot more, just kind of talked to Cole a little bit more and really talked everything through so that all the information is gathered and I can execute the shot that I need to. And that's why you learn from it. I know that McIlroy, he may not have finished the that I he would have liked to finish last week, but he's going to learn from it and he's going to become a better player. That's the same for me. I never really think about the times that I've lost tournaments. I just think about, okay, what do we need to do to get better to win tournaments the next time. That's the only way to really win tournaments is learning from the past experiences and moving on. Q. If you can just explain how much weight is lifted off your shoulders with that win, given what happened in the three years leading up to it, or not happened? And you mentioned, is this when we see the real Jason Day? Is this the start of the big upward push? JASON DAY: I don't know if it was weight or anything. I didn't feel like anything was lifted off my shoulders or anything. I felt fine before. I was playing some solid golf. I was talking to Ellie after the matches, it was so exhausting that all we wanted to do was just sleep. I couldn't sleep that night; I was up all night. You know, this‑‑ I feel like this is kind of a springboard for me to go out and play better golf, and hopefully win a lot more. My game feels good. I've never been so much‑‑ I've never been so focused in my life on competing and playing well than I have been this year. I've put in a lot of work on the golf course and I've put in a lot of work off the golf course on my body, everything. Ever since the World Cup win last year, it's been very motivating for me to go out and do the work and really see and push myself how far I can go. You know, once again, my goal is to get to that No. 1 spot in the world. I know that Tiger is up there right now and there's a lot of‑‑ there's a pretty big gap between me and him. But you know, I think it's achievable if I put in the hard work, and first of all, win. That's the biggest thing is that you have to come out and win and win a lot. From there, we'll see how it goes. Q. I don't want to bring you down, but have you thought about how you would have felt if you didn't win that final, given the circumstances? JASON DAY: Yeah, I think the media, or more so on the Internet, a lot of people would be talking that I couldn't finish. I mean, he hit a phenomenal shot on 17 and then I 3‑putted 18, which was not what I wanted. And that's what‑‑ well, getting back, you learn from past experiences. You get to a breaking point in your golf game where it can go either way. You go, okay, I've had enough and I just need to sit down and chill out. Or you go, no, stuff that, I'm going to push through it and I'm not going to quit until I win. That was mind‑set for me; that sometimes you get to a point where it's just too much and you can't go on. Well, you've just got to keep pushing through it, and that's the past experience that I have had. At the Masters, it just felt like I couldn't go on anymore. WGC, I was losing ground but I was still kind of in neutral ground there. I still had a chance to win. So I just wanted to keep pushing through it until I won. I wasn't going to stop. I was going to keep fighting it until I won. So that's the past experiences that I kind of went back on. Thinking about it, I'm like, oh, man, this is going to be terrible if I lose it, I had a 3‑up lead. I kept on pushing that out of my mind and telling myself how much I want it, and I wanted it more than anything else. In the end it worked out great for me. Obviously it was a little bit longer with those up‑and‑downs but glad it's over. Q. You referenced Tiger a moment ago, kind of a little bit of a thing hanging over this event is whether he's going to be well enough to come out and play. Just as a fan and a colleague or whatever, do the players and like yourself wonder where this is going to take him, whether he'll be here this week‑‑ JASON DAY: I think he'll be here this week. I think he'll be here this week. I think there's‑‑ what is it today, Tuesday? I think he probably rested Sunday. He's probably getting some work done Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I don't know if he's played the course‑‑ he hasn't? Well, it's going to be a bit of a shock to him I think because it's just such a different look. But, I mean, he is Tiger Woods and he can come out and the guy has 14 majors and 79 wins. I think he just needs to rest and make sure that his back is okay for this week. I know that he's had some past experiences, especially going back to Barclays, he was having some back trouble, but he's had back troubles, knee troubles. The guy is not 20 anymore. He's, what, 37 or 38, something like that. Yeah, he's getting older and when you get older, things hurt a little bit more. I think he just needs to take it easy. I think he'll play this week, but you know, he just needs to rest that back. Q. In a more general sense, speaking about Tiger's injury, I don't know if that's a protective strap around your wrist, is the amount of golf that you guys play, you have to be very careful about injury now because it seems there are more and more niggles with backs or wrists. JASON DAY: Well, this was‑‑ I did this at the U.S. Open last year. My trainer said I tore ligaments in my hand and every‑‑ if I play too much golf without this on, then my hand hurts. So if I strap it up, then it feels fine. There's a point where you get to, when you have an injury, you feel like, okay, I've taken a week or two weeks off and it feels okay. But really, underneath, you have to rest a little bit more and make sure that everything. You have to go through the process of doing corrective exercises, doing rehab and making sure everything is totally fine and not coming back too early. Because if you come back too early, it will strain and go even further and you'll be out of the game for a long time. I've had back injuries where I've been out for two months and wrist injuries and all that other stuff. You know, golf is not a contact sport, so you really don't think that there's so many injuries but there's a lot of twisting and turning and torque that you put in the golf swing. We swing a million times one direction and we don't swing it the other direction to balance out the muscles that are in balance. So it's very easy for people to get injured. It's more about the recovery. I was talking early about the active recovery and making sure that my body keeps moving. During the Match Play, every night my back was so tight, there was one night I couldn't sleep because I was so sore, my lower back. That's what I learned and the next day I went out and had my trainer look at it after the match and went to the gym, and the next day, I felt so much better. So making sure that you're doing the right things in the gym to prevent injuries is huge. Q. How often do you guys‑‑ JASON DAY: And that's a whole other story. Some guys come out and play. I was talking to Dawie van der Walt; he's a South African bloke and he's come over, he's won two tournaments earlier in career, and it's his ninth week in a row. Over the years, I've learned that maybe if I want to complete and play well against the best players in the world, two tournaments in a row is my max, maybe three, if I want to push it. I don't want to push it too much, because if I play too much golf, then what am I doing out there. My mind is not into it. I'm not going to play well because I know that I'm going to make mental errors. And then in that point that you're coming across, is that if I play too much, my back stiffens up and I may be prone to more injuries that way.       So scheduling this year has been really different compared to the last few years. I've played one won and one off over the last‑‑ this is my 4th tournament. So it's been one week on, one week off, and I've actually liked that because I can actually have some time off after the tournament from Monday to Wednesday where I can just go to the gym and recover and get some rest and then I can actually prepare for the next tournament; what clubs do I need to hit for the next event, what kind of grass there. I came down here Thursday night just to get used to the grass, because it's totally different from the WGC Match Play event. Preparation is huge, and then obviously the prevention of being injured, for me personally, is big, as well. But some younger guys like to play a lot more than that, and they think they can go four or five. But I think over time, they learn to kind of bring it back a little bit. Q. As someone who knows firsthand how hard it is to close out a tournament, what do you think Tiger has that's enabled him to make it look easy all these years? JASON DAY: I think it's a will to win; that he just‑‑ I know the guy looks at the history books and I know that he wants to go down the all‑time greatest player in the world. When he was going through the that run where he‑‑ I was looking at his World Ranking‑‑ I was on the new Official World Golf Ranking website and I was looking at his wins. In 2000, he had ten wins, and then it was‑‑ there were some years there where he's going ten, nine, seven. The guy, when you have a goal and for him‑‑ I think he's obviously one of the best players of all time, but when you have a goal to beat, you know, Jack's record and then the tournament record of most wins, when you have something like that and you've been trying to achieve that, you'll do anything you can to win the event. I think his biggest thing was the will to win. He didn't stop. That's why he made it look so easy and that's why he made everything look so clutch was that he put the work in and his goals were motivating him to achieve that. So it's going to be tough to tell to see if he's going to beat Jack, but right now, he's still got a lot of years. I think the biggest thing for him is just to stay healthy. It's tough. I mean, the guy, he doesn't play as much as most people, but he's not‑‑ like I said before, he's not 20. It seems like he's having a lot more injuries these days than he has ever. Q. Take out the element of it being match play, and obviously the quality of field, but which was harder for you, the second win or the first? And secondly, how important was it for you to kind of get that one out of the way, because there had been‑‑ started to be a little bit of a gap. JASON DAY: Match play is kind of a different thing, because you only play six guys, really. You're playing 18 holes every match. It's not like you're playing against 130 guys or so. But you still have to go out there and compete and play well. That week, I just felt different.  From the preparation I had coming into the week was unbelievable. I had phenomenal preparation. I did a good job the week prior, and even Monday, Tuesday, had good practice sessions. And from then, I just felt like there was nothing‑‑ you know, there was no one that was going to beat me that week, just from the way I felt mentally and the way I felt physically with my body. As the week went on, I knew it was going to be a long week. The second win, whether it's the first or the second, it's still just the same. It feels just as great as the first one. But I don't want to stop there. I want to keep winning. I want to keep competing and playing well. Like I said, my goals, I've always wanted to get to the No. 1 spot in the world and I've always wanted to win the Masters. So I'm not going to stop until I achieve that or if I injure myself and I'm done for the game. LAURA NEAL: All right, Jason, thanks for your time. Good luck this week. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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