Jason Day finds major mojo, gets in hunt at The Open
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[July 22, 2023]
Of the six players 3 under par or better after two rounds of
The 151st Open Championship, the only one with a major title is
Jason Day.
The Australian made six birdies and shot a 4-under 67 on Friday
afternoon while most other players were heading in the opposite
direction at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England.
At 3-under 139 through two rounds of The Open, Day is seven strokes
behind leader Brian Harman. But the 2015 PGA champion knows there is
plenty of time for things to change -- and plenty of difficult
weather to potentially shake things up.
"From what I understand and what I've been hearing, I think we're
going to get some pretty awful weather (Saturday)," Day said. "But
just saying earlier that it is The Open Championship, so if we do
get some pretty average weather, it'll bring a lot of guys back in
or at least give them a chance at shooting up the leaderboard pretty
quick on tomorrow's round and then obviously Sunday, as well."
Day, 35, complimented Harman's 10-under 132 in "really difficult
conditions" while pointing out the pressure is on Harman, who has
two career top-10 finishes at majors, to defend that lead.
"T4 right now is great," Day said. "We've got to slowly keep
pushing. I think I've got a number in my head but I'm not going to
say it because typically when I say it I'm terribly wrong. I'm just
going to kind of keep pushing towards that number."
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Day and Jordan Spieth (who is 2 under through two
rounds) traded the No. 1 world ranking back and forth in 2015 and
2016 before Day held the mantle for 47 consecutive weeks entering
the 2017 season. But he fell off considerably while battling chronic
back pain in the years that followed.
Day's victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson this past May ended a
five-year winless drought. Now he is in position for his first
top-10 at a major since the 2020 PGA Championship.
Day had entered The Open with missed cuts at the past two majors and
a T39 at the Masters.
"I'm excited about (the weekend) because I haven't played the majors
well this year, and it's been a little bit disappointing," Day said.
"Even though I've played great for the most part of the year, I
haven't played well in the majors, and it's been a little
frustrating for me.
"But I think if I can get one here this week, that will definitely
change it."
--Field Level Media
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