Jason Day Has Not Seen Much of Oak Hill and That's on Purpose
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Jason Day has taken a unique approach to preparing for the PGA Championship: not playing the golf course prior to the first round.
The 2015 PGA champ, who on Sunday won the Byron Nelson Championship for his first victory in five years, said less is more this week.
"I haven't played the course. Unfortunately, I haven't seen the course," Day said Wednesday. “I'm just not fighting anything, I just want to make sure that I'm mentally prepared and mentally ready. No matter how well I prepare, even if I go out and play a practice round, if I come in tomorrow tired and exhausted, it won't do me any favors, so I'm just going to try and take it easy. It's not the first time I've come into the major championship not playing a practice round."
Day captured his 13th PGA Tour title with his win outside of Dallas but the since he won twice in 2018. That was two years removed from a time when he was No. 1 in the world, having won five times in 2015 including the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
But Day went through some difficult times with injuries, including back troubles that altered his game and confidence. Last fall, he was chosen for the International Presidents Cup team and Day said he would not have helped the team.
"Injuries in competitive sports are no joke," Day said. "It's very difficult to be competitive in any sport. To fight through something, especially in golf where the mental game is such a huge part of the game, it almost feels like you're handcuffed when you do have an injury, and you're playing against the best players in the world trying to compete and win.
“That can be frustrating, disappointing, and it can almost be a feeling of depression sometimes just because of the amount of work that you're putting in. It feels like you're going and working 150 percent just to get 10 percent out of it.
"But it's like anything; once the momentum train starts, it takes a while to get things going. But once it starts, it starts to go pretty fast; and if you can stay on that train for a little bit, that momentum can take you on to better things."
Day had dropped outside of the top 160 in the world last year and was still outside of the top 100 when 2023 began. But he slowly began to pick off results. He tied for 18th at the American Express, then had four consecutive top-10 finishes. He was on the fringe of contention at the Masters before a final-round 80 knocked him back to a tie for 39th.
But after missing the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship, Day opened with a 64 at the Nelson and capped off the week with a final-round 62 on Sunday to win by a stroke.
Day said he doesn’t advocate not seeing the course prior to the tournament, but it’s simply the best approach for him.
"That's probably the most challenging when you're preparing to try and get a grip on," he said. “But if I come in a little bit mentally tired and I start making mental errors, it's one of those golf courses from what I know and what I've played in the past, that if I start making mental errors, then it's going to go downhill pretty quick from there.
"I've just got to be cautious, understand that I've come off a good week from last week, and with a win comes some expectations. But, also, I've got to not get too far ahead of myself and make sure that I listen to myself and listen to my body."