Jason Day wants to make good use of some promising form in two US PGA Tour events that put him right in his comfort zone.
Day has highlighted this week’s Byron Nelson Championship, as the start of a ‘home’ stretch where he hopes to well.
After claiming his only US tour win in the Byron Nelson in 2010, world No.25 Day has finished fifth and tied for ninth since and he returns to the TPC Four Seasons resort in Irving, just outside of Dallas, with plenty of reason for confidence.
He lived in the area for most of his professional golfing life before heading up to Ohio in late 2011 to live in his wife’s home region.
While he didn’t get the result he wanted at the Players Championship last week, his tie for 19th included a fine final round 68 and followed a third placing at last month’s Masters.
“It was a nice final round at the Players to give me some momentum and confidence heading in,” Day said.
“For some reason I have obviously always played well here in the past. Everything just seems to click when I play here.
“I love the place. The support I get here is great, I feel like a hometown boy and I enjoy playing a place I’ve won in the past.”
Day’s next tournament after the Byron Nelson will be the Memorial at Muirfield Village, his new home course and main practice facility in Ohio.
“I’d really like to try to do the double. Win this week, take a week off and then win at Memorial, obviously that would be nice,” he said.
Day isn’t the only Aussie with Texas ties this week.
John Senden, Greg Chalmers, Nathan Green and Rod Pampling are all ‘locals’ who could easily feature up top of the leaderboard.
Pampling has two previous top 10 results in the event and Senden also has one.
But perhaps the other Australian to really watch is Marc Leishman, who is coming off three straight top 10s and has a tie for eighth, 12th and third at this event in his last four starts.
Leishman is also gunning for further moves up the world rankings.
Currently a career-high 58th, he has two weeks to be inside the top 60 (US Open) or 50 (British Open) to avoid having to try to qualify for those majors.
Stuart Appleby, Steven Bowditch, Scott Gardiner, Cameron Percy, Alistair Presnell and Nick O’Hern are also in the field.