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BMW CHAMPIONSHIPSeptember 7, 2016Jason DayCarmel, Indiana JOHN BUSH: Like to welcome Jason Day, the defending champion to the interview room at the BMW Championship. First of all, take us back to this win last year and how much that meant to you. JASON DAY: Yeah, it was huge. Obviously, coming off the back end of the win at the Major Championship, the PGA Championship and then the Barclays and then on top of it being able to play the way I did the first two rounds of this event last year and not coasting but really just trying to be more so conservative on the weekend, having such a big lead going into the weekend, making sure that I wanted to win this one because if I did win, it would get me to the No. 1 spot in the world. So, it's nice to be back defending the tournament, obviously we're in a different location, I haven't seen the location yet, this is the first day I've actually been out to Crooked Stick and looking forward to seeing how the course what it presents for my game today. JOHN BUSH: Another outstanding season for you, No. 2 in the FedExCup, three wins, seven top-5 finishes, but I know you have big goals for the remainder of the year. JASON DAY: Yeah, I'm really trying to make a big push for the FedExCup and there's a lot of great golfers in front of me, Patrick Reed and then behind me, that are trying to get their spot as well. So I know that the only way of taking control of that is to win and it would be nice to go win, win, that is obviously the goal, but right now it's just I got to make sure I focus on getting the right game plan in place to try and tackle this golf course, which I know that is a very difficult task to do. JOHN BUSH: Questions? Q. Tiger just announced that he's going to play three tournaments before the end of the year. Given your relationship with him, what's your reaction to that? JASON DAY: It's great. I'm looking forward to seeing him play again, seeing what the state of his game is. Obviously, it's been this time I think he's done it the right way by waiting and not coming back too soon. There's been a couple of times where I feel like he may have come back too soon and kind of injured himself a little bit more and that's what's kept him out of the game so long. But there's probably a lot of anticipation to see how the state of his game is and I'm definitely looking forward to watching those tournaments and seeing how his body holds up and how the mental side and obviously the golf side of things hold up as well. Q. Given your communication with him, how much of a surprise is this to you? JASON DAY: Not much. I knew that he was close to coming back and we chatted a little bit. I don't try and get into too much schedule stuff with him, but we chatted a bit and he felt like he was pretty positive with how the progression was going with his body and he felt like he was starting to make the turn with it and obviously if we're going to see him three times in the fall, that it means that his body's in good shape. So, I think the hardest thing for him is just to try and get the rust out and really get back to game ready sharpness, which is obviously a difficult thing to do. Although we're expecting big things from him, I don't expect too much from him, even though he is Tiger Woods. It's hard to say that, because he's been out -- I don't know, he's been out of the game for awhile, he's been out for a little bit, but it's always tough to come back, even though you're one of the greatest of all time, it's very difficult to kind of get that sharpness back. It should take a few tournaments for him, but hopefully he gets it back pretty quickly and he can get back to, hopefully not to the old ways, but more so closer to the old ways and it would be fun to play against him when he's at his best. Q. What's the state of your game? What's the biggest difference between Jason Day from the PLAYERS Championship to Jason Day this week? JASON DAY: I don't think there's too much difference. The only thing that I'm not doing that great from the PLAYERS Championship to now is that I'm just probably missing a few more fairways. Now I felt like I started feeling a little bit better with how I was going about things on the golf course last week, so if I could hit a few more fairways this week, that would be great. I feel like every time I hit a fairway I have got a good chance at making a birdie. Any time I'm on the green I feel like I got a great chance of making a birdie, just from how I'm putting. I just need to hit a few more fairways, I think that gives me a few more opportunities. I feel like I'm getting really good out of the rough now since I've been hitting it in there the whole time, so hopefully that's not going to be an issue this week and I can hit it from the short stuff. Q. You proved at the PGA Championship you can play well at a place that you just turn up to the day before. What was the thinking of not coming in just sort of giving yourself a little bit of rest before? JASON DAY: Yeah, well it's kind of a, it's strange with Labor Day and how the tournament finishes Monday and then you jump on a plane and I think that a couple years ago when we played at Cherry Hills that was a big turn around, we had to immediately fly from Boston straight to Colorado, so that was always tough. But Indianapolis is only kind of like a drive away if I need to. But I wanted to make sure that I was more so rested than anything, because over the last two weeks, even though, like I said, I haven't been driving it that well so I've seen a loft golf courses, not in good ways, but that can take a mental toll on myself. I've been kind of grinding it out over the last two weeks just to try and hit the fairways. It's a lot easier if you're hitting it down the middle. It's very boring that way, but I like it that way. So, I just wanted to make sure I got that extra day of rest then I can come in today try and prep and get ready for the tournament. I feel good about where the state of my game is. Obviously, like I said, I want to hit a few more fairways, but from the PGA TOUR web site, the golf course looks fantastic and I'm looking forward to seeing how it is. Q. You speak of the rest. Is it only rest, you've had a hectic time of it golf wise, you come into another big golf course, is it just taking time off to remain mentally sharp and emotionally on point or is there something else? JASON DAY: No, it's just trying to catch up on rest for more mental sharpness. It's not anything physical or anything like that at all. It's definitely not for the game, it's just, if I play three weeks on the road I feel like I'm starting to pull my hair out and I don't want to do that, especially at a crucial time like this. Everyone has their threshold of how many events they can play in a row before they start making mental errors. And it's not because of the lack of trying, sometimes you just feel like you're out of control and you're trying so hard and you keep going more and more out of control. So I just wanted to make sure that this is the third week, and three weeks in a row is usually kind of right around the mark where I'm starting to make mental errors and I can't afford that, especially this week. And me being No. 2 in the FedExCup and making sure that I get to the TOUR Championship in the top-5 so I can control that destiny -- if I win TOUR Championship I win that FedExCup. But yeah, I'm just trying to rest up as much as possible. I feel good about my game and we'll see how it goes. Q. In your view, can a nice personality ever get in the way of winning? JASON DAY: I'm sorry? Q. Can you be too nice to be a consistent winner in sports? JASON DAY: Am I nice or? Q. You tell me. JASON DAY: No, you can be nice, you can win, too. I think that the way the mentality has changed over the years, watching Tiger Woods and Phil have that big rivalry and then I feel like it's different in golf because this game is so easily, it's quickly and easy to you can be humbled very quickly in this kind of a game. So, it's, you can't have any sort of tension between your self and other players or even just walking around and presenting yourself in a way that players you make other players feel uncomfortable. It's more of a distraction for me. Don't get me wrong, I want to try and beat everyone's brains in as soon as I get on to the golf course, but that's just how I am as a person. Then, after awhile, after the round, we shake each other's hand and walk off. You can have that mentality and I think with the young guys that we have these days, Rickie and Jordan and Rory and especially a loft younger guys, it's more toward everyone's friends and everyone gets along. But at the end of the day we all want to win. And when we see a person win like I did last week with Rory, it's not through jealousy or envy of him, it's like I want to be there and I got to make sure I pick my game up now, so that I can beat him, because right now he's trending in the right direction with how he's hitting, how he's putting and he's going to be a tough contender for the FedExCup. So, yeah, you can be nice and still beat everyone. Q. After you want won so much in such a short period of time and it's been now almost four months since you haven't won, has that been frustrating for you? JASON DAY: Oh my goodness, I should start another profession then, right? (Laughter.) It is a little bit. No, it's close. I said at the start of the year it's all in the process, so it's very, very difficult to win all the time. I gave a short little stint there where I made winning look a little, probably look a little easier than what it should have and obviously I want to get back to that. But once again, you have to keep up a level of workload that I had in the past to maintain that level. During this season when it gets hectic, especially a season like this when you're going week on, week off, week on, week off, like we did in the middle part of the season, it's tough to sit back, take the nice rest that you need, plan the week out practice-wise, work on the weaknesses while maintaining the strengths and then also stay game ready, it's very difficult to do that in a week. When the weeks are spanned out a little bit and you have a couple weeks off then it's a lot easier to do that. But hopefully I can change that this week by winning. Q. With just two events left in the season, how do you rate your season to date? JASON DAY: I got off to a not such a slow start, but like it was, I kind of trending in the right direction and then ended up winning middle part of my season and then kept it going. It's been solid. Obviously, I think if I could win one of the next two, that will definitely kind of solidify the Player of the Year, which is obviously on my mind. But it's been a good solid year. Everything can't be the gold standard of what I did last year. I'm hoping that what I did last year can be my second best year ever hopefully in the future, because I see five wins and I want to try and beat that and win six times in one season. I know that's very difficult, but to be able to go five wins and then three wins in the next season, after having such a big season the year prior, I think I did a pretty good job of being able to handle where I was to this point last year with the amount of wins and then being able to control and handle all the distractions off course and on course and still be, have that motivation to strive and get better and try and keep that No. 1 spot in the world. I think I've handled it pretty well. Q. One more about Tiger, given the back surgeries he's already had, do you feel like this is his last chance to have a, to make a full come back? JASON DAY: Oh, that's just a tough one to say. He's going to have to go out on his terms. Whether that's he comes back and doesn't play well and his back is still sore, then unfortunately, that's one of the terms that he has to go on. But if he comes back and plays well -- it's just really difficult because right now. The game is so tight with how competitive it is and how hard it is to win. I don't think winning is going to come as easily as it was for him back in the past. But I think if he's willing to do the work, and willing to climb that mountain again and get back to where he was, there's -- I mean he's done it two or three times before, so the possibility is endless for him, but once again, he's in his 40s, I don't know what the stats are with players how well they played in their 40s, there's been a few guys that come to mind, but it's going to, it's more so for him mentally when he's got to choose when he's going to be done upstairs more so than body and stuff, because everyone knows that he can play through pain. You look at the U.S. Open, you look through numerous tournaments where he's hurt his back and still played and played well and won. So, it's more with the mental side for him to say, okay, am I done mentally more so than the physical side. JOHN BUSH: Jason Day, best of luck this week. JASON DAY: Thanks. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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