Jason Day has been Australia’s best chance at the majors more often than he hasn’t over the past 15 years. He has arrived early at Royal Birkdale following his withdrawal from the US Open due to concerns about his troublesome back, which has plagued him in the latter stages of his career.
Queensland’s Day looked extremely relaxed on the 13th green at Royal Birkdale on Wednesday, playing only four practice holes before heading to the putting green, signing some autographs and smiling with the locals.
Pulling the pin early on his practice round sparked some concern following his withdrawal from the US Open at Shinnecock Hills just under a month ago, and he admits, it is just about managing the injury going into his 14th Open Championship
“It hurts every day you wake up, but I'm probably hopefully 80% of the way there to be back to healthy,” Day explained to GA Magazine.
“I'm not the only one playing with some sort of injury. I think there are a lot of guys out there right now playing with something.
“It's hard to put a number on it because you never know. It could take a month to heal up, or it could be next week, you know what I mean.”
The plan was to play a few holes on Wednesday, prioritising a longer-range session in the morning before the beaming sun baked an already crispy, brown Birkdale.
“I've been here since last Saturday evening, so I played Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and then obviously today,” Day says.
“I did a little bit [of a] bigger session on the range today.
“I'm going to just play only a few holes and then get out of it.
On the eye, the game looks fine. He came back from his disappointing withdrawal and played in all four rounds of the Travellers Championship, finishing in a tie for 55th.
Although the game certainly passes the eye test, the 38-year-old has been vocal about his recent swing struggles, telling GA he has to remain extremely careful towards his troublesome back when making any tweaks, adding that when it comes to tournament week, it is just a matter of working with what he’s got.
“Got to be patient… You can get some bad bounces here at the Open, so you just have to make sure you have a decent, solid plan." - Jason Day.
“First and foremost, you have to go body first, then the swing later, unfortunately.
“I mean, I feel like I've had a repetitive cycle through my years of like, back goes out, then you're cycling through trying to get the correct motion in the body to be able to swing the club, but you can't.
These have been thoughts he has wrestled with for years, but it never gets any easier.
“It's so hard to be competitive that way because you - if I'm looking at a flag and I see a shot and I want to hit the shot, but then I stand over and I go, "Oh man, my back feels very sore."
“Then you're thinking about trying to get it into a technical spot. It's very difficult to play that way. So unfortunately, I'm in the position where I have to do it, and you just got to go out and do it and just try and find a way to get it done.”
Day has copious amounts of experience and success at Open Championships, and is posed with the challenge of combating Royal Birkdale in the midst of a heatwave, playing as firm and fast as you will ever see an Open Championship, a task he is open to but also notes comes with a few different options when it is illustrating all the difficulties of a ‘baked out’ links loop.
“We're going to get some very dry, firm, fast conditions, and I think the rest of the week is going to be pretty much the same,” Day says.
“This golf course is not overly long in a sense.
“There are some long holes, but if you take it on, you can get the ball all the way up near the green if you want to, if you've got the firepower.
“Got to be patient… You can get some bad bounces here at the Open, so you just have to make sure you have a decent, solid plan.
“I'll probably be kind of on more on the conservative side, get myself on the greens and try roll some deeper putts in.”
Add Golf Australia as your trusted source
Related Articles
The Open Championship: Round 1 Tee Times (AEST)
Smyth ready to seize Open opportunity after breakthrough season
