ORLANDO — Jason Day is longing to be comfortable being uncomfortable.
The Aussie owned the golf world when he won the BMW Championship last year during the FedExCup Playoffs, his trophy presentation accompanied by a huge cherry on top as he became No. 1 in the world. The victory also capped a stretch during which he won four times in eight starts, including his first major victory in the PGA Championship, and never finished worse than a tie for 12th.
The spotlight was all his – for one week.
Day finished in a tie for 10th in The Tour Championship the following week and then didn’t play a stroke-play event for three months. Thus, the chaos of being No. 1 never took hold as he was never pulled in every direction by fans, the media and sponsors. Still, Day understands when he hears current No. 1 Jordan Spieth and former No. 1 Rory McIlroy talk about the struggle to become comfortable with being the game’s top dog and the associated pressure with trying to stay there.
“Obviously it's a different, different beast,” Day said Tuesday before a practice round at Bay Hill ahead of Thursday’s start of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
That’s what he was telling Adam Hadwin during a practice round Monday. That while some players enjoy living with a world ranking between 50 and 100 and making a great living, Day wants the chaos. He wants to be No. 1.
“I was just telling him you’ve got to be OK with feeling uncomfortable because if you're uncomfortable it usually means you're doing something right, especially out here,” Day said. “And the times that you're uncomfortable is the most you'll learn in that situation and I just told him that I was looking forward to being uncomfortable for the rest of my life.”
That means living in the spotlight, with a target on your back, being recognized everywhere from the supermarket to the gas station, attending to extra requests from the media and sponsors.
“There's a lot of spotlight that comes along with being the best in the world,” Day said. “ … There's a big balancing act when it comes to that. I haven't had the experience of getting to No. 1 and then playing and going through what Jordan or Rory went through, so, I'm looking forward to that experience.”
Unfortunately for Day, he hasn’t been anywhere near the spotlight this year. He hasn’t been a threat to win on Sunday in four starts, his best finish a tie for 10th in the limited field at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
His return this year was stifled by an illness in San Diego. Mostly, however, it’s just taken him longer to get back to where he was last year.
“It hasn't been the greatest,” Day said of his start to the year. “I mean with the expectation of everyone and then obviously the expectation of myself thinking that I should be coming out here and contending and competing even after a three-month layoff, it's still pretty high. I mean it is what it is. ...
“The expectations are one thing and obviously playing is a different thing. It’s been a little tough for me, but it is early. But it's not easy because, you know, I hear it every week, ‘How is the year going, how is this going?’”
Day says he's been “busting my butt” trying to return to form.
“I still want to be the best,” Day said. “I want to get back to No. 1, but these things take time. It's not like something you can click a button and it happens overnight. There's so many factors that go into playing well out here all the time, and once you find that kind of blueprint or that little moment everything clicks together and you start playing well again.”
