Jason Day eyes return to golf summit as Johnson bids to defend title
Jason Day has set his sights on enjoying a Tiger Woods-like run atop the PGA Tour rankings as gears up for this week’s WGC-Cadillac Championship.
Former world number one Day will return from an extended break in a star-studded field when the tournament gets underway in Miami, Florida on Thursday.
Now ranked second, Day has been grouped alongside world number one Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, while the Australian must contend with defending champion Dustin Johnson at Trump National Doral this week.
But Day, who has only appeared three times on Tour this season with just one top-10 finish at the Tournament of Champions in January, has vowed to reclaim his mantle.
“I definitely want world No.1 back and the next step is to hold it for a long period of time,” Day said.
“First I just wanted to get there, now I want it back and I want to keep it. I am building up to it all again.
“I really want to be a consistent player. I want to be like Tiger [Woods] and Rory who were number one for a while. Not only do those players win the big ones but they are consistently playing well week in and week out.”
Spieth and McIlroy head to Miami desperate to return to form, while Adam Scott is out to maintain his red-hot run.
The Northern Trust Open was a miserable outing for Spieth, who missed the cut after carding the worst opening round in his professional career by shooting a 79 a fortnight ago.
McIlroy posted consecutive two-over 72’s to miss the cut at The Honda Classic last week, after falling down the leaderboard in the final round of the Northern Trust Open.
As for Scott, he won his first title worldwide since 2014 after hoisting The Honda Classic trophy aloft.
Meanwhile, world number four Bubba Watson has been working towards avoiding distractions at crucial moments as he bids to end his woes at the Blue Monster.
Watson – winner of the Northern Trust Open – has previously racked up two runner-up finishes in Miami, while he was third at the event last year.
“The physical game is the easiest part for me,” Watson said. ” The mental part is … — and when I say the mental part it’s not that I’m focussed on ‘oh my gosh don’t three-putt’, I’m focussed on ‘ooh, there’s a good movie out, let’s go watch that’ while I’m over the putt from eight feet trying to make a birdie. It’s just things pop into my head and I kind of just run with them.
“So I’m trying to get things to quit popping into my head, trying to focus on what I’m doing at that moment, and that’s where Teddy’s… we’re putting right now and he’s making sure I’m doing the right things when I’m on the golf course.”
