‘I’ll play for sure’: Jason Day expresses Paris Olympic interest following Masters
As Australia’s highest-ranked golfer Jason Day would automatically lock himself in for an Olympic spot, but is he the right man for the job with a young star on the rise also interested in the gig.
Former world No.1 Jason Day has confirmed his desire to play for Australia at the Paris Olympics.
As his country’s highest-ranked golfer (currently No.21), Day would automatically qualify for the team.
“I’ll play. If I’m in, I’ll play for sure,” Day said after a final round 69 at the Masters.
“I’m looking forward to it. I think I made a bit of a mistake not going down to Rio (in 2016), even though part of it was family related.
“I kind of missed out on that, and I probably should have gone. But if I get the opportunity, I’m looking forward to going.”
Cameron Smith, who is unable to accrue ranking points outside the four majors after defecting to LIV, is also keen to play in Paris.
Smith has slipped to No.68 but would climb again as the leading Aussie at the Masters.
Adam Scott (53) has already ruled himself out, leaving Min Woo Lee (32) and Cameron Davis (62) in the mix.
Lee, who also closed with a 69 in his final round at Augusta, conceded he was troubled by the ring finger he broke in a mishap at the gym last week.
“Early on I didn’t have enough trust in it, but after making plenty of bogeys to start off, I decided to give it a good go,” Lee said.
“I was kind of already on the back foot. Since then I shot level par … pretty good and decent. But it feels good.
“There’s a couple things I need to clean up, but overall I think it’s a solid sign. Obviously not the best prep with the finger and the flu. I guess I can kind of say that one good week of practice there I couldn’t really do, so it was a bit of rest for me, and hopefully I can prep better for the next one.”
Lee said it would be “unbelievable” to represent his country in Paris.
“When you’re a professional, you don’t really get to represent the Australian side,” he said.
“Obviously every week, week in and week out you represent Australia, but when you’re an amateur, I got to play for Australia a lot of times, so I do miss putting on the green and gold, and hopefully -- obviously Jason is a playing partner and a teammate.
“That will be really special. My sister (Minjee Lee) is going to be there, too, so it will be an unbelievable experience. Hopefully it can stay this way and I can play.”
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