Aug. 19, 2015
JASON DAY
JULIUS MASON: Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for
joining us today. We here at The PGA of America of very happy to be joined by
2015 PGA Champion and world No. 3, Jason Day, who joins us from just outside
Columbus, Ohio. After some brief opening remarks from Jason, we will turn it to
media for questions.
Jason, thank you very much for finding some time for us today.
Can you give us an idea of what you've been doing the last 48 hours or so, and
what it's been like for you?
JASON DAY: Well, first of all, it's great to call in and I'm excited to
talk to everyone today, especially about what has unfolded last week with my first
major victory.
I mean, the last 48 hours for me personally has been more so just
trying to catch up on the time with the family, catch up on rest and just spending
good quality time with the family, because I really didn't get to see them last
week. And being able to try and rest and recover was huge, because it was a
long two weeks for me, especially last week was very, very long for me. It was
mentally and physically draining.
So, to be able to get some much-needed rest was great. But I
would be happy to put myself through that exact same stress, that long of a
week, just to be able to hold the Wanamaker Trophy again.
JULIUS MASON: Speaking of the Wanamaker Trophy. Two
questions: Where is it right now and what have you put in it?
JASON DAY: (Laughs) It's actually sitting right behind me right
now and I haven't put anything in it yet.
You know what, it's just I respect the trophy so much that the trophy
that I have with me right now is just going straight into the trophy cabinet just so
that I can look at it and think about it every time I go and see it; and know that all
that hard work and dedication that I put into it; and all the respect that I have for
it; and the respect that I have for the players that are on the trophy, are there.
And to be able to have my name on that, it's just fantastic, it really is.
I enjoyed it so much that I want to be in that position again; to be
able to be in contention and be able to hold the Wanamaker Trophy again. It
would be an amazing feeling. But apparently has not had any sort of liquid in it
and I don't plan to because I just respect the trophy too much to put anything in it.
Q. Congratulations. You've come so close in the majors the last
three years. How much did it mean to you to bounce back at the Canadian
Open after the heartbreak at the British Open, and how did that prepare you
for last week? And also, I was just interested in how much it meant to you
to be able to share that victory with Colin?
JASON DAY: Yeah, it was huge for me confidence-wise, and
going from the frustrations at The Open Championship -- because honestly, I felt
like my first major championship victory was going to be at The Open
Championship at St. Andrews. I just great that week. I felt good about my game;
and then to pull up so short with the frustrating putt on the last hole.
But then again, turn around that week on a short week and fly
straight back to Canada and play in the RBC Canadian Open and win that,
especially with how I did it with three birdies in the last three holes to win by one,
definitely helped the confidence; knowing that what I was doing at the time was
good enough to win, and what I was doing mentally and physically to prepare for
a tournament was exactly spot-on what I needed to do; the confidence is high.
And then coming into the WGC week, I told you about it late last
week. It was frustrating for me, the way I played at Bridgestone. It was
frustrating for me because I felt like I was going to play better there.
So, immediately after that, I was with my agent, I said, "I'm going to
win the PGA Championship." There's nothing on my mind other than just
winning that week.
I think just with everything that happened from The Open
Championship all the way up to the PGA Championship, it was just -- I felt like it
was my time. I felt like I was in the right direction, heading in the right direction,
not only with my mental side of things, but physically; the golf swing felt good.
But just the whole week, I honestly believed no one was going to beat me and for
some reason, everything clicked and I hit it -- I felt like I hit it better than
everyone. I felt like I putted better than everyone.
And to be able to celebrate that with Colin, especially on the last
hole, we were hugging each other and crying in each other's arms, it was very
emotional for us both. He knows what we've been through. I think the majority of
the people on this call know what happened in my past and my background. It's
just been such a long journey and to be able to share that with one of my best
mates and a father figure for me was very special.
Q. Thanks for doing this. Your last two wins, you were kind of the
guy wearing the black hat. You were battling a Canadian at the Canadian
Open; and Jordan, a lot of people seemed to be rooting for him in your
gallery. Did the Canadian Open experience sort of help prepare you for
what you faced Sunday, and can you describe what that was like? I know
there were people sort of yelling negative things to you during that round.
JASON DAY: Yeah, to be honest, the Canadian people were
fantastic. The only time I got a couple negative things against me at the
Canadian Open was on the last hole, someone said to me hit it in the water when
I was hitting my wedge shot into the green.
But, other than that, the Canadian crowd were fantastic. I actually
felt like I was a Canadian that week. It was amazing how many people came out
to that event. Just the support from that crowd was huge.
But, yeah, obviously, everyone knew -- Jordan Spieth is a young
22-year-old American from Dallas, Texas, and he's the poster child for American
golf right now. Like I said, if I was in the crowd, I'd be supporting him, as well,
because he's just so easy to support. And I understand that. I understand that
people wanted him to win.
That was the hardest -- that was the hardest round of golf that I've
ever had to play; not only being able to have to play against Jordan and Justin
Rose during my middle of the round, and then Branden Grace at the start of my
round, having all those guys play well. But being able to play with Jordan in the
final group when I knew exactly that the fans, they wanted Jordan to win.
And having some negative comments out there, that's tough. But
things like that you just grow from. You gain experience and you grow from and
makes you mentally tougher in the long run. I'm glad it happened that way. I'm
not saying that these people that were saying negative stuff out there, that they
really wanted it to happen.
But it was just a good way to kind of fuel the fire for me at least to
know that these people -- I felt like these people were against me; I'm not going
to have that. I'm going to keep pushing forward. I'm going to keep grinding it out
and I'm not going to stop until I win this tournament. And that kind of -- hearing
that and having those comments out there motivated me to be stronger. I think
it's going to definitely help in the future with any sort of crowd negativity.
Q. Can you run us through the messages of support you've got from
various people since the big names and things that maybe you've gotten,
and also, if you can go back through the final round, was there ever a
moment where you got yourself in that position that you'd been in before,
where you had to check yourself, whether if it was a bogey on 8 or whether
that shot on 9, you actually noticed the position you were in before and
were able to react differently?
JASON DAY: Right. Yeah. It was pretty neat to be able to see -- I
think I have 150 text messages, and I couldn't tell you how many e-mails that I
had. But just the support that I had, especially after the win, was huge for me.
My peers -- even my peers Tweeting out to me on Twitter and
being able to, and that's really what I liked the most about it. I enjoyed the love
that I got from everyone, but to be able to get it from my pierce -- to really
understand -- they understood how much it really meant for me and how much
hard work I've put into the game to finally get my first major, and then to
recognize it and say some really sweet and nice things to me over the Internet
was fantastic. I mean, that's what really stuck in my mind. It was just
unbelievable. I never really thought about it that way but it just meant a lot for my
peers to say something like that.
You know, I think the biggest thing where I had to check myself
during the day was I think the most clutch or pivotal part of my round was on 9,
being able to get up-and-down where practically -- Jordan Spieth hit it in the right
on the rough and had a terrible lie, but gouged it out to the front of the green.
And then I had a great drive about 310, 320 yards straight down the
middle, which is a very tough, difficult fairway to hit. And then, go straight up and
caught fat the edge of my hand, which is just totally weird. I didn't feel any
pressure. I didn't feel anything. It was just a really terrible feeling, because I felt
like I was in control at that time, as well.
And as soon as I hit it, I just knew, I'm like, don't worry about it.
There's nothing you can do about it now; just get up-and-down.
I hit a great pitch to about probably inside ten feet, and then Jordan
hit his just a little bit short. He had a putt and missed his, and then I rolled mine
in. That was kind of a momentum -- I came off a bogey on 8, so that to me
personally was a momentum-starter. To really understand that, even though I hit
a terrible second shot and I was looking at bogey, I turned it around and made
par and then that really got me going on the back side: Being able to hit a good
shot on 10, even though I birdie it but par it; birdie 11, and to play on from there.
Q. Thanks for doing this. Just two quick questions. Your trainer
and your wife and your coach and everybody has talked about seeing a lot
of changes in you the past year, two years, even just this year. Just
curious, what's the biggest change you've seen in yourself? And then I'll
just wait for the follow up.
JASON DAY: Yeah, I think it's a number of things, not so much in
my golf game I would say, more so in my body and mind. Because at the end of
the day, you need to have a good golf game but also, you need to make sure
your body is healthy, even though your mind is mentally strong.
With the finishes that I've had this year, especially going as far as
the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, that helped me mentally. And the
good play since then, it just really helped my confidence along the way.
But I put a lot of dedication into my body, really trying to make sure
that I eat healthy, eat the right things, and then change the way I train. Early on
in the year, I was doing two a days, where I was doing an hour, an hour and a
half in the morning with cardio and ab workouts. And then in the afternoon, I
would work out, do strength and conditioning for an hour.
So, I was really dedicated to making sure that I was preventing any
further injuries, and I think people have seen not only the change in my body but
the change in the way I hit the ball. I've definitely added distance. And I think a
lot of people can see it, because I'm definitely -- I think I've added about ten or so
more yards.
But it's been an accumulation of a bunch of things that have slightly
improved over the last year to two years, ever since I won at the Match Play last
year against Victor Dubuisson. You know, with all those things that I've
improved, it's all those little things that I've improved that are adding up to the big
picture now and making me play a lot better under pressure, making me play
bigger and better in major championships and PGA Tour events. Yeah, I think
that's the biggest thing.
Q. And then just a quick follow-up. I know you often trade texts with
Tiger about things, and I'm just curious if you can maybe share some of the
back and forth of those conversations and kind of what you get out of that.
JASON DAY: Yeah, he's the reason I started playing golf. He's
the reason I got into the game of golf, because of the way he played, how
dominating he was, and then reading that book about him when I was a 14-,
15-year-old kid, and him changing the way I looked at the work ethic that I had,
how hard I had to work to get to where I am; has been a big influence on me.
To be able to call him a friend and really to be able to pick his brain
about certain things and what keeps -- how do you stay so motivated and how do
you -- what do you do in certain situations and stuff like that, has been a huge
help. We've talked a bunch of times on the telephone. We've texted a bunch of
times just back and forth each week.
And really, to be able to get the help from arguably the best player
ever to walk or ever to live in our sport, I mean, there's no other way, because
he's lived it, he's walked it, he's done it; and to be able to have that as someone
to bounce things off when you don't quite have the answers, but he has the
experience and the knowledge of finishing and playing and winning a lot of
tournaments, is the best sort of advice that you can get out there.
Q. Just wondered if you can take us through now that you've won a
major, your schedule through the rest of the season and will you be
returning to Australia to play in any events?
JASON DAY: Unfortunately, I'm not going to return home to
Australia, which is very sad for me, because I want to be able to share this
moment that I have, the trophy, the Wanamaker Trophy, and the moment that I
had, the experience that I had with the Australian crowd, the Australian fans, the
Australian media.
Because once again, I haven't been able to get home a lot ever
since being every here with injuries and babies and all that stuff, and they have
been very understanding of it. They have been nothing but supportive of what
I've been trying to accomplish in my golf and in my goals in life.
It's kind of sad because I really want to be able to get home and
share this with them. But with No. 2 on the way and Ellie due around
mid-November, it's just -- I think I wouldn't be living in the house if I just got up
and left Ellie with a brand new baby and Dash to look after by herself.
So, I definitely want to spend time with the family. But my schedule
coming up is the full FedExCup Playoffs, then I have the Presidents Cup and
then I'm going to take time off. It's been a great year but I really need to take
time off to really kind of de brief and really understand what was going on this
year, what I've done great, what I need to improve, and really try and get after it
with my body, really try and change and get it to where I really think I need to get
my body to the point where it's not going to break down again.
I'll probably take off some time and then maybe kind of re-evaluate
things once I get into late November. I'm going to go defend Shark Shootout.
I'm thinking about going to play Tiger's events. But right now I'm just focusing on
the FedExCup Playoffs right now.
Q. Since you mentioned Tiger, what do you say to the people that
think he's become a ceremonial golfer?
JASON DAY: Ceremonial golfer, as in -- what does that mean?
Q. Maybe just playing out the string; not really motivated or having
the self-belief that he can do what he did before again.
JASON DAY: Yeah, I mean, it's -- well, I guess when you're
starting at the bottom of the mountain again, so he's looking up at this mountain
going, he wants to get to the top again, and I understand he's done it twice.
Starting at the bottom of the mountain -- you have to start
somewhere at some point, and you have to be able to get through the bottom
half of that mountain, and what may be the most rocky part to get past. It may be
the most jagged part, because he's coming off what has been probably the
hardest time in his golfing career with the play that he's had, the swing changes,
the injuries, and all the stuff that happened off the golf course, has been tough on
him, not only physically, but mentally, as well.
So, to be able to come back and be under the watchful eyes, and
not only us as peers, but media, fans and everyone that is involved in watching
him, is tough. He wants to be the best but it doesn't come easy because the
guys that are playing these days are a lot tougher. They are more mentally and
physically prepared these days than they were, I believe, ten, 15 years ago. And
to be able to climb that mountain again is going to be difficult for him, but I think if
there's a player that can do it, he can.
To get to where he is right now, where a lot of people think he's just
showing up to play, he needs to play. Because he always talks playing; I need to
play more; I need more reps. He needs to play and try and work this first part of
this jagged mountain that he's trying to climb, because the first part is always the
hardest.
As he gains the confidence and the belief that he can do this again,
then the rest should come back pretty quickly, because he's won 79 times and 14
majors. I think it's going to be tough for him, but I mean, that's why he's out here
competing and playing, because if it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and
we wouldn't have players dominate like we do now.
Q. Just a quick follow. Is it safe to say that he's going to have to
play better than he maybe did in 2008 or even 2013, because of this new
influx or new wave of players that are coming of age, yourself included?
JASON DAY: Well, I just think he needs to play, and play and win.
Doesn't matter -- some weeks are going to be easier wins than others. But he's
definitely going to have to, he's a lot older now than he was back in 2008
obviously.
But he's going to have to play better, and play harder than he used
to, I believe, because I just feel like the competition is getting stronger. But I
mean, it's a different point in his life. Back then, he had all the confidence and
belief that he could beat anyone, and he did.
And you know, fortunately for us now, there's so many players that
are tough and that are competitive out there that before -- it's hard to say this.
But I think the majority of the players were kind of afraid or he had that aura
about him; that a lot of people, when he got in the hunt kind of fell and didn't
really follow through and win tournaments. I don't think he'll get that as much
now these days because the guys are just so young and so confident and so I
guess hard-working and believe in themselves so much.
Q. Any part of you wish that Augusta was two weeks away, rather
than eight months or whatever it is?
JASON DAY: Sometimes when I'm thinking about it because the
game is so good right now. But I'm thinking, I'm feeling, that as long as I keep
working and doing the little things right, right now, that it will be there come
Augusta. But to be honest, I feel like I'm growing and becoming better as a
player each and every year.
Yeah, you're right. If it was two weeks away, it would be fantastic,
because I feel like I could -- with how things are going right now, I could go and
have a good shot at maybe winning that tournament. But right now, the biggest
thing for me right now is really to try to focus on the FedExCup Playoffs, really try
to beat Jordan and beat the guys behind me and win the FedExCup.
I'm obviously looking forward to it but the good thing about it is that
I've had really good finishes at Augusta; at the Masters, I've had fantastic finishes
there already. So I know that I can play there. I know I can play well there. I just
have to keep doing things right, and hopefully next year will be the year that it
falls my way.
Q. Have you re-adjusted already, in terms of obviously that first
major was a big thing on the list, the one that you needed to cross off.
Have you readjusted and are you thinking in terms of multiple majors, or
are you on the sort of Rory line of thinking, just waiting for No. 2? Have
you picked yourself a number or anything like that?
JASON DAY: I have not picked myself a number. The only
number that I will pick is what I get at the end of my career. I'm going to try and
win as many as I can, and you know, it would be fantastic to win all four at one
point in my career.
To be able to have the lifelong Grand Slam would be neat, but right
now, I'm just not even really thinking about it. I still have to work hard. I have to
work harder than what I am now to make sure that I stay on top of this and stay
on top of the world and be competitive in major championships.
Because I mean, it's easy to go yeah, I've won one and I'm so
happy, and sometimes people -- even myself at times, have taken a bit of a step
back because I'm happy with where I'm at. But I can't be happy with where I'm
at; I have to keep pushing forward and keep working hard to really kind of break
through even more.
JULIUS MASON: Just to clarify, what were your goals going into
the PGA Championship, and are you saying they may or may not have changed
coming out of it now that you've got a major under your belt?
JASON DAY: Yeah, well, I think to be honest, I've never really
thought about what I'd be thinking about after I won my first major. And all I knew
is that I wanted to win the PGA Championship coming into the week, and I felt
like no one was going to beat me that week.
Looking back on it now since I've won, I think the goals have
changed. Just looking at it, I had a conversation with a buddy a long, long time
ago talking about major championships and PGA Tour wins, and I talked about
having a lot of PGA Tour wins and a few majors would be great.
But looking back on it now, winning is fantastic, but winning in
major championships at the highest level against the best players in the world is
something so addictive that I can't really explain.
Yeah, I think some of my goals have changed to the point where it's
not -- I'm not dying to get them but to win Augusta would be fantastic. Now, to be
able to go through and win all four would be an accomplishment in itself because
there's not many guys that have done that, obviously not in this era but in
previous, as well. They have definitely kind of slowly but surely are starting to
evolve and change into something bigger and better.
Q. Just to follow up with two things. Was winning a sort of giant
sense of relief for you in any way, winning a major? You obviously had
won some big tournaments prior, but was it a sense of relief? And
secondly, was there any part of you that had felt that even though you
started a trend in this direction, that you had underachieved in your career,
given your talent, and felt like maybe you should have won more often and
certainly bigger events.
JASON DAY: Yeah, I definitely felt like I was an underachiever.
Especially I feel like I have all the talent in the world to win on many golf courses
and major championships. I honestly thought I was going to win a major
championship quicker than what I did, but it clearly took a little bit longer than
expected.
You know, I was thinking about it, and I'm glad all those things
happened to me. I'm glad all those frustrations and experiences of failures that
I've had in the past happened because I used it as a learning tool to really push
myself and be able to reach this accomplishment of winning the PGA
Championship last week.
It definitely took a lot of pressure off my back winning my first one
because I think if I had the lead -- I think I said it late last week. If I had the lead
and I lost it, it would have been a tough one to come back from. Because I had
the 54-hole lead, or I was tied -- or I had a share or I had the lead at 54 holes in
the last three major championships. And to not finish and win one, then there
would be some sort of, I would say, mental block that would start for me. And to
be able to get over that line and finish, it definitely took a lot of pressure off my
shoulders to understand that.
I've got my first one; I can finally be out of the question or out of the
picture of what people would look at me as one of the best players without a
major. I mean, it feels good to be able to win my first. But I'm just really pleased
to finally get it off my back and really just kind of focus on what I need to do now,
and that is to work as hard as I can to get as many majors as I can right now.
JULIUS MASON: Well said, Champ. Jason, thanks very much for
finding time for us today.
... ends