Australian Open: Jason Day aiming to hit the top and stay there

Jason Day’s ranking may have slumped, but his attitude hasn’t.

Jason Day working on the range at The Australian Golf Club in preparation for this week’s Australian Open. Picture: Dylan Robinson

Jason Day’s ranking may have slumped, but his attitude hasn’t. Getting back to No 1 in the world won’t be enough for the Queenslander, who arrived in Sydney this week having dropped to No 12 after a year plagued by difficulties on and off the course.

Day wants to dominate. He always has. As a promising teenager more than a decade ago, he stunned the golfing community when he spoke openly of his plans to unseat Tiger Woods during an event with Australian media.

Day did just that, although to be fair to Woods, the Australian’s ascent to No 1 — much like everyone else who has held the mantle in recent years — owed almost as much to Woods’ stunning fall from the heights as their own brilliant play.

As Woods prepares to make his latest comeback at the tournament he hosts next week, Day yesterday spoke about launching a renaissance of his own.

The launching pad may yet be the lush green fairways of The Australian Golf Club, where Day will begin his pursuit of the Stonehaven Cup on Thursday.

Day played nine holes at the course yesterday with compatriots Lincoln Tighe and Dimitrios Papadatos. The whisper was that he played well.

They could yet be the first steps towards world domination, something Day insisted was very much still on his radar.

“It’s tough because I know what I did to get there [No 1],” Day said. “When I first turned professional my goal was to get to No 1 when I was 22 or 23. I think when I was 23 I was No 4 or 5 in the world. I didn’t get to No 1 in the world until four or five years later.

“It’s very, very difficult to do that. It’s hard to pinpoint when I’m going to get back there.

“If I go out there and win this week and win the first three or four events of next year then you’re kind of close to that.

“I want to do more than just get back to No 1, I want to get back to No 1 and stay there for a long time. You look at Greg Norman for instance.

“He got back there and re-energised himself, motivated himself to get back to work and he stayed there for 332 weeks. That’s what people remember the most of how dominant [he was].

“People know that guy was No 1 for 332 weeks, that’s legendary stuff. That’s what I want to be able to do. I want to get back there and know at some point in my era or my career that I dominated over time.

“I’m not so much worried about getting back there, I need to focus on getting back there and dominating.”

Jason Day at The Star in Sydney yesterday. Picture: Brett Costello

Just as he did more than a decade ago, Day talks without any hint of ego. He doesn’t come across as arrogant. His belief has always been his strength, although it got tested at times this year as he struggled with his mother Dening’s dice with cancer and the decision to remove mentor Col Swatton as caddie.

There were promising signs in the latter stages of the PGA Tour season and the expectation is that Day and world No 2 Jordan Spieth will fight it out this week, their job made less difficult by the absence of Adam Scott.

The Open remains very much on Day’s bucket list.

“When I first started playing golf — I always talk about Augusta National and how I watched Tiger win a (US) Masters — but even before that I was watching the Australian Open and the summer of golf,” he said.

“It’s big — to have in your collection the Stonehaven Cup is huge for me. I honestly believe I will get one, one day. I have to make sure I get to that position where I give myself the opportunity.

“I think if I can play well this week I have a good chance of winning.”

Winning the Stonehaven Cup would be the perfect exclamation point to a year which has tested his physical and mental strength.

“I was very, very burnt out at the start of the year,” he said.

“In 2015 and 2016, even though I don’t play a lot of golf, there’s a lot of demands behind being No 1 in the world. I struggled with trying to give myself time to really understand what it meant to be No 1 in the world.

“Coming into this year I was severely burnt out and it was hard for me to focus out there. I said what I need to do is just focus and work hard.

“If I can work hard then I can play well, and I will gain confidence and get the results to get out of this slump. That didn’t end up happening.

“There’s no use for me if I’m No 50 in the world. It doesn’t do me any good and it doesn’t do Australian golf any good if I’m way back there.

“I think it does good for Australian golf if I’m at the top of the world rankings, playing well and dominating.”