Jason Day declares body could let him play until he's 50 as he tries to keep alive his PGA Tour playoffs campaign
Day, the only Australian left in the PGA Tour playoffs, was in a share of the early lead in the second event in steamy conditions in Maryland, needing to stay close to the top of the leaderboard to progress to the season-ending tour championship, before back-to-back bogeys on his closing two holes.
The former world No.1 finished at two-under par, six shots behind Scottish star Robert McIntyre, who blitzed the field with a stunning opening round of eight-under 62, including six-straight birdies to finish, to lead by four shots.
Day knows he's walking a tightrope to stay alive in the playoffs, and his opening round lifted him 15 places on the live FedEx Cup rankings and into the top 30 who will play at Eastlakes.
'I mean, it is on my mind but not really,' he said after his opening 68 at the Caves Valley Golf Club.
'Obviously I've just got to play well. If I don't play well, then I'm going home. There's no in between. As I was saying before, it's either I'm in East Lake or I'm out, and my playoffs are done.
'That's the biggest thing for me is just to try to get myself into position to be able to at least win here this week because thinking about just getting inside the top 30, it's never a good combination. You've got to go out there and try and win this week, and if it falls your way, then great. The win would take care of everything.'
But Day, who slumped to as low as 150 in the world in 2022 as injuries hampered his capacity to compete at the top level, won't be defined by his finish this season despite the riches at stake.
Having rebuilt his swing and his body to once again take on the world's best, the 37-year-old father of five is looking at his golf through a longer lens.
'I'd love to be someone that's always dialled and on. I've had my moments where I've been dialled and on, and a career is very, very long, and it's hard to stay … it's hard to do what Rory has done for a long time and it looks like what Scottie Scheffler is doing right now. It's very hard to do that,' he said.
'But with that being said, going through what I went through with my body and then finally feeling like I'm out of it now and I feel very healthy, that's always a positive.
'East Lake will be the end of my 18th season out here on the Tour, so that's quite a long time. I feel like if I can keep myself healthy, not only physically but also mentally, I feel like I can stay out here until I'm 50.
'Looking back on it, if you could say that I could spend another 12 years out here and say, 'Hey, man, you've been out on Tour for 30 years', I'm more than blessed.
'Yes, I do want to be out there and I do want to go through those feelings and emotions when you're close to the lead and playing really good week in and week out, and that's something that I'm trying to build back towards.'
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