MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 7, 2026

Jason Day

Quick Quotes

Q. 15 years, is this the year, J.D.?

JASON DAY: Hope so. It would be nice. I've had good prep. So I'm really looking forward to getting into the tournament now. Obviously I've been here since -- got here last Friday. Just starting to taper off the practice and get more into seeing the shots and just looking forward to getting going.

Q. Have you tinkered with the grip of the clubs?

JASON DAY: No. A little bit. I would say that I just changed irons. I feel like there was a bit of a setup change at the -- just more so recently, which is kind of weird. Like I didn't realize how far left-sided I got with my swing or my stance. And, essentially, I was probably around 168 to 170 ball speed at the start of the year.

We made a quick change going back to more 50/50, back like front foot and trail foot, and then also 50/50 like toe to heel. And as soon as I did that, it jumped up 10 miles an hour on the ball speed, which was good.

So starting to see some -- I would say that when I'm out there playing, I probably keep it around 78 now, 77, 78, somewhere in that region. On the driving range I can get it up to 81, 82, which, I mean, compared to the start of the year, if you're popping it out there 168 ball speed, it's not going to go very far, so it's carrying about 310, which is good. So especially playing this golf course, that makes things a little bit more exciting because there's certain carries that you potentially take on.

Q. So what (indiscernible)?

JASON DAY: Recent results, obviously at Houston, played good there. I thought that was a great week to prepare for this week. And then, yeah, I've just been here so many times. If I can just get out of my own way, typically I play well.

Q. Jason, where does this prep leading rank in terms of your Masters career?

JASON DAY: I shouldn't say it's the best I've felt, because obviously there have been some times where I've come in Top 5 or Top 10 and I felt like I was pretty focused and ready to go.

Overall the body feels good. That's a plus. I'm driving it, and the heights of my shots, my iron shots are so much higher than what they were at the start of the year. I was maxing out at 100 feet, apex on my irons. Now they're upwards of 120 to 130, which is my old height.

Like I said, I think I talked to you last week about being able to go at certain pin locations, even though sometimes you shouldn't, but you have the opportunity to if you do have the height.

Q. Is there less pressure these days than when you were World No. 1 coming into the Masters?

JASON DAY: There's always pressure because you always want to try and win your first one. But I would say there's a lot more other guys that they're talking about for sure.

Q. Your outfit, you're all good?

JASON DAY: No. I saw a couple people out there today wearing the shirt and the full kit and kaboodle, which is a little aggressive, but I like it.

Q. Jason, having played here so many times, how would you describe playing Amen Corner? What makes it special?

JASON DAY: Well, I've seen changes over the years. We used to hit anywhere from gap wedge sometimes to pitching wedge, 9-irons into 11. Now I've hit upwards of 3-iron into that hole.

And outside of that tee location that we have, we got nothing else. So whatever the wind brings us is we just -- they have to tee us up there. And sometimes that can be a little aggressive, because I mean, is it a 3-iron hole, probably not, but that's just what's so unique about Augusta is that they have their own traditions and the way that they like to set up a golf course. And no matter what you do, they're going to do it their way, which is fine.

So once you get past and beyond that where you think things are a little unfair, you learn to work your way around it. So 11 is a tough hole to kind of start the back side.

12 is always awesome. Regardless where you have the wind, it's always so tough. And I literally played a practice round with Johnny Keefer, and he was asking me about Amen Corner, and I said, get your wind on 10 at the top so you kind of know where things are, because obviously we're at the highest point here. Get your wind on 11, and that way you can go and at least trust something, because if you don't, you could sit there and try and trust the gust or the swirl of what you get, and you could hit one long or hit one short, and that's not where you need to be. You need to be able to stand up on that hole and trust and commit to it.

I think 13 is a change where it's fantastic. Obviously pushing that tee box back, guys are hitting driver now, and it brings in these left trees. So if you hit driver and you're in the middle of the fairway, you have to work something around, but it's doable. You either got 5-iron or 6-iron, if you poke it up the left far enough. If you don't feel comfortable with it, then you gotta lay up and hit a wedge shot close.

So 11, 12 and 13 is just such a risk-reward kind of golf holes. Tough 11th. Obviously unique 12 and birdie 13.

Q. It's been 40 years since the tournament course record was set by Nick Price, 30 years since Greg Norman matched it. Having played so much golf here, why do you think it's been so long?

JASON DAY: I didn't play back in the 90s, and I heard Phil Mickelson say that, like you said, 40s, 80s and 90s. Back then the golf course was shorter. But the defense of the golf course were the greens. So they had to play the greens a lot faster and obviously quicker because the golf course was shorter. Now that they've lengthened the holes out, it's definitely a lot harder to birdie some of the holes.

You come in with longer clubs, the greens are still firm and fast, you know what I mean. So it very rarely do you -- unless it's like perfect conditions where there's just been some downpour and they're very receptive. But you'll get your 64, 65 once a tournament here, but I don't think you'll see a course record broken anytime soon.

Q. Could be a tough setup with the weather?

JASON DAY: Yeah.

Q. Would you welcome that?

JASON DAY: Yeah. I mean, it's great. I think for me, I'm hoping that the tougher the better, because it just means that you need to have everything on from tee to green.

It's always imperative that if you don't hit the greens here, that you leave yourself in the correct locations and if you leave yourself a good up-and-down, then you're always moving forward. It's very easy to try and force the issue here when you know that you shouldn't, and just be patient. You know what I mean?

Like I think 11 to 13-under typically wins this tournament. Top 10s and Top 5s are not too far behind that. So it's like 4s and 5s for potential Top 10. And I'm not saying that you should think that way, but like just knowing that there's certain numbers that you can hit takes some of the pressure off, you know.

If you go, oh, I only need to shoot 1-under a day and that's probably going to yield a Top 10, then you're like, okay, I don't need to be as aggressive, unless the weather changes the course conditions. Cheers.