Australian Jason Day expects to hit the ground running in his return from injury after finally ‘figuring out’ Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio.
With just four rounds at the Masters since winning the WGC Match Play Championship in February, Day has finally recovered from a troublesome thumb complaint. And while he might be a little rusty, as a nearby resident and a member of the course, the 26-year-old expects to jump back into contention at the Memorial Tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus.
“It’s obviously never the best thing to be injured but to be able to come back at the Memorial in front of my friends and family, especially here at my home course, it is exciting for me,” Day said.
“It’s a huge advantage to be a member. I play this course a lot and I practise out here pretty much every day.
“To be able to win in front of Jack Nicklaus and the fans here would obviously be a great honour. I’ve been working really, really hard and the preparation has been really solid coming into this week so I feel good about my game right now.”
Despite having lived in the area for almost three years, Day has failed to play well in the tournament previously. His best finish was a tie for 27th in 2009 and since missed a cut and finished tied 41st. But as a member of the International team in the Presidents Cup last year, Day found his groove on the layout under competitive conditions, culminating in a 6 and 4 hammering of Brandt Snedeker.
“I just don’t think I knew how to play this golf course and then something really kind of clicked for me at the Presidents Cup,” the World No.7 said. “I just felt a lot more confident and I think just a lot more reps on this course helped a lot, just knowing where to miss it and where not to go.
“And I think I may have put too much pressure on myself just because I want to play well in front of the family and everyone’s expecting you to go out there and play well.
“Now I know I just have to put that out of my mind and just go out there and focus on what I need to do. And that’s to play, to put myself in position and in contention on Sunday.”
Day will get a measure of his game from the opening tee having been paired with last week’s winners Adam Scott (Texas) and Rory McIlroy (England) over the first two rounds.
“That’s going to be fun,” he smiled.
“Threw me in the deep pretty quick but I’m looking forward to it.
“The thumb, it’s totally fine and I’m glad to put it behind me and I can just focus on the second half of the year and hopefully produce a lot of good golf.”