FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Golf can be a humbling game – even when you’re the world’s best player.
Jason Day managed to shoot a 1-under 70 in the third round of The Barclays, a score that left the defending champ 5 under for the week, three shots behind Rickie Fowler. While most would view it as a solid effort, Day stepped to the podium Saturday and admitted he was at much less than his best.
“I think I walked like 10-plus miles just from where I was hitting it off the map,” Day said. “Some holes, I didn’t even see [playing partner] Adam [Hadwin]. I just met him up at the green and said, ‘How ya doing?’ It was just a struggle today.”
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Day continued to have issues off the tee, finding just three of 14 fairways. He’s hit only 14 of 42 for the week, a total that ranks him T-78 among the 79 players who made the cut.
“I just had no clue where it was going today. Was missing both left and right,” he said. “The biggest thing for me was to try to commit to a golf shot. I was standing over there going, ‘Just get it down there somewhere,’ instead of committing to a target, committing to a shot and hitting it.”
While Day hopes to find an overnight fix to cure his ball-striking woes, he also realizes that he has a realistic shot at defending his title despite his wayward efforts through 54 holes.
“I’m just trying to get to the hole with the least amount of strokes that I can, even though it looks like I’m just whacking away and doesn’t look like much,” he said. “I’m just trying to focus on that. The biggest thing for me is to really try and win this one.”
