THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 12, 2021

Jason Day

TPC Sawgrass

Quick Quotes

Q. Some of the players have said this is almost a little bit like a U.S. Open setup in that you have to be careful not to play your way out of it early.

JASON DAY: Yeah, I would say so. I mean, it's a very -- you have to be very patient out there. It's definitely a premium on hitting fairways. If you can hit fairways, that makes things a lot easier. You just don't have to do too much.

Obviously take Sergio out of it, 4-under is leading. By the end of yesterday, Sergio played some good golf, two eagles, very rarely does that happen. Who knows where he's going to end up at the end of the day.

It's funny, the greens are -- compared to yesterday afternoon and this morning, the greens were very receptive this morning. I'm assuming it was the same for them yesterday morning. For us it kind of started to bake out. 16 and 17, the greens are a little bit harder, a little bit firmer than the rest of the course. Just try and give yourself the opportunities when you can and just be patient. You've got to be patient.

It's difficult to -- when you look at some of the pin locations, you're like, okay, this is great, I've got a birdie opportunity here, and it kind of just suckers you into like going at it, and sometimes if you don't pull the shot off, it's down the hill and you've got a short-side chip coming back up the hill.

Q. What's the atmosphere like with the fans? How close is it to normal or not normal?

JASON DAY: Yeah, I mean, it's close. Obviously we'd like to have more fans, but I understand there's probably a cap on it here in Florida. I'm not sure what they've done this week. It's nice to be able to play in front of people again. I'm sure the fans are happy to be back, as well, because it's been a while for everyone to be inside and obviously try and stay healthy and safe, but I think a lot of people are looking forward to getting back out and watching golf, playing golf, all that stuff.

Q. A couple of players have said that because it's a smaller number, certain fans can make sure they're heard more. In other words, they're hearing more chatter back and forth because they can be one of 10 people near you.

JASON DAY: Yeah, yeah, definitely, and that's -- yeah, I think they're spot on. I know that we didn't have a lot of -- we had crowds following us, but it wasn't like the Bryson group, which was two or three groups in front of us which had quite a large group. I think from a fan perspective, it's kind of nice to be able to be close to someone that you're watching and kind of hear the interaction between the player and the caddie, but once we get back to full capacity, I think that's going to go out the door pretty quick.

Q. Are you satisfied with where you are through two rounds?

JASON DAY: I am. I was just a little bit disappointed with my ball-striking coming out. I struck it pretty nice kind of early on and mid part through my round. Obviously the last two fairways I missed, and then, yeah, from there you're just trying to scramble, making sure that you get in there with par. I think overall it's nice to be able to be in at 3-under. I've just got to be patient. I was obviously alluding to it earlier. There's two more days. I think the course will play obviously a lot more difficult over the next two days, after today, just because I think their greens will start to firm out a little bit more, and we're going to have a little bit more wind, too, a lot more than what we've had today. I think I've just got to stay patient.

Q. Does that play into your hands a little bit? You've won here, had success here in the past. You know how to play this course on the weekend. However many shots you might be back after today, you're still right there?

JASON DAY: Yeah, I mean, it would be nice to get the putter going. Unfortunately, the thing has let me down. How do I explain it? If I miss a green, typically, in regulation, I'm getting up-and-down. If I hit one in close, I'm not holing it. There's a mix between like I'm scoring well but I'm not scoring well in the same senses. If I can just get the putter going on those birdie putts, some things like kind of move my way, then I feel like I'm in good position. I feel like I'm striking the ball well enough to give myself opportunities, just got to get the putter going again.