Jason Day is itching to play again.
After a six-week layoff forced upon him via a thumb injury, the Australian world No.4 is trying to keep a lid on his enthusiasm for the Masters to begin, knowing full well the more preparation he gets, the better off he’ll be.
With six top 10s in his first 13 major championships the 26-year-old is primed to break through.
Having won the World Cup last November and then claimed the lucrative World Golf Championships Match Play Championship in February, his stock has risen significantly higher.
At Augusta National Day has finished tied for second (2011) and third (2013) and could have easily been the first Australian to win it all having a two shot lead with three holes to play last year.
“I always wanted to be the first Australian to win it but obviously Scotty got there first, but I’m happy to be the second,” Day said after playing an early nine on Monday.
“I have been here since last Wednesday and it’s kind of like, let’s get going.
“But you don’t want to rush into it too much. Especially for me because I haven’t played for six weeks so preparation is huge and the more time I get the better.”
Day claimed his thumb, and back he tweaked while playing with his son, was fine and he only needed to tighten up his driver and fairway metals to be at his best.
If the thumb and back problems were his first hurdles, being diagnosed recently with allergies and mild asthma were others.
But the Queenslander immediately took the positives from the situation.
“I am severely allergic to dust mites and ash trees and I have mild asthma but it never bothered me too much before and if my lungs were only working at 70 per cent, imagine what it could be when I get to 100 per cent?” he said.
“So it is only improvements from here, making small little adjustments to improve what I’ve got already and improve the big picture.”
When asked about the biggest lesson from making back-to-back bogeys on holes 16 and 17 on Sunday last year, Day was brutally honest.
“The biggest thing was communication between my caddie and I because when I got onto the 16th tee everything kind of felt like it was seizing, my whole body felt like it wanted to freeze up, cramp up, like it never has before,” he said.
“I think if I just communicated well it may have calmed me down a little bit or we may have chosen a different club.”
But he also said the experience gained was priceless and the proof was in his WGC win, where Victor Dubuisson played miraculous golf to stay alive until the 25th hole but Day refused to yield.
“You can’t learn pressure and the feelings that come with competing at a high level without putting yourself in that position,” Day said.
“You can’t mimic that in practice, you have to really enjoy the experience and know that it is okay to feel uncomfortable.
I learned you really have to embrace feeling uncomfortable because winning isn’t always comfortable.”
