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TSN Senior Reporter

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After his tremendous run over the last 10 months, you might think golf is pretty easy for Jason Day these days. All he’s done is win six times, including his two most recent starts, and jump up to No. 1 in the world ranking.

But he still understands how the rest of us feel.

“Golf is a very, very frustrating game. I can sympathize with everyone in this room that's played golf,” said Day, deftly sizing up the talent level of the media hacks staring back on Tuesday in the press building.

It may be hard to imagine that Day has ever experienced those rounds when nothing goes right and you may as well be playing with a croquet mallet instead of a seven iron. His swing these days is a perfect stew of elegance and power. His tee shots soar into the stratosphere and his putts seem to be on cruise control for the bottom of the cup. His game appears complete and perfectly dialled in for Augusta National. No one would be surprised if he was wearing a green jacket come Sunday evening.

But back in 2011 when he arrived to play in his first Masters, his game was in tatters and his confidence was in a funk. Things were so dire, he was considering quitting the game, at least that’s what he told his handlers. He was hating the game.

“[I] had my agent, my wife and a sports psychologist, and we're just sitting there, and I'm like, ‘I just do not like the game right now. I'm just having a very, very hard time picking up the golf club to even just enjoy myself out there.’ So we come to the conclusion of just going and saying, this might be my last Masters ever playing, I may as well enjoy it.”

With almost no expectations, Day went out and had some fun. He started with a round of 72, followed that up with a 64, and another 72 before finishing second. He may not have won, but his attitude towards the game had shifted dramatically.

“I loved the game again,” chuckled Day.

And that emotion has continued pretty much to this day, despite some hard-luck injuries and some more close calls in majors that include seven top-10 finishes before his eventual breakthrough at last year’s PGA Championship.
 
Now he’s among the favourites to win in Augusta. And why not? Every part of his game seems to be firing. He’s 20th in driving distance, 65th in greens in regulation and third in strokes gained: putting.

But aside from what the numbers say, it’s easy to see the confidence in Day’s eyes, his walk and his focus. He looks like a man capable of dismantling a course, even one as complex as Augusta National.

He also seems to be someone who understands that having fun on the course, as he did back in 2011, is not a bad approach. It was something he lost when he began to listen to all the loudmouths who kept asking him when he was going to win a major.

“I guess I thought about it and [told myself], I've got to kind of force it this year and that's when I started missing stuff and making mistakes and mental errors. I kind of shot myself out of tournaments,” he stated. “So this year, I'm not going to say it's going to be different. I'm just going to go through my normal game plan and just play, try and play the way I have been and hopefully I'll give it a good run at the end of the week.”

It’s the approach he took last year when won the RBC Canadian Open and followed it up with his first major title. The same he had in play when he took two of the four FedEx Cup events, and again this year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Dell Match Play.

Part of this normal game plan is relentless preparation. He arrives physically prepared with a plan that comes from playing the course but also watching past Masters and seeing how the greats have conquered Augusta National.

He is mentally ready for the task at hand, too, both from a big-picture standpoint and with every stroke. His visualization before every shot may not thrill those hoping to speed up the game, but it clearly works. It also helps him avoid trying to do too much, a problem from the past.

The inspiration for all this work can be found in his opponents, a clutch of players all fighting for that top spot on the world ranking, all attempting to be better than the others for one week and one tournament. Day is being pushed by Rory McIlroy and by Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler. He doesn’t want to fall behind in a race that’s producing some thrilling golf.

“If one of us plays well, then usually there's two out of three or three out of three guys that are going to step up practising and play harder,” said Day, “because it's inspiring and motivating to watch the other guy win because you know that you can do it, and why can't it be you.

“So right now, I'm kind of doing that. Jordan was at the start of the year; Rickie was at the start of the year. Rory hasn't won one yet, but he's very close to winning. And obviously I'm kind of right here right now doing my thing.”

This week, Day isn’t thinking about quitting golf. He’s looking to add his name to the long list of champions at Augusta National. Looks like he made the right decision to stick with golf.