Fil-Aussie Day resumes hunt for the big one

BETHESDA, Maryland—Australia’s Jason Day will complete his set of major championship appearances at the US Open this week and if his debuts at the other three are anything to go by, there could be fireworks at Congressional.

Day has taken giant steps forward in each of his major championship debuts.

He played his first major less than a year ago in the British Open at St. Andrews after Greg Norman pulled out and he got his spot, finished tied for 60th.

At his first US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits last year, he charged up the leaderboard on the final day before finishing tied for 10th, before a scintillating showing at Augusta National leaving many to wonder whether he can take yet another step and raise the trophy.

The 23-year-old Filipino-Australian, whose mother hails from Pangasinan in northern Philippines, showed his immense promise at Augusta National with an eight-under 64 in the second round, the low score of the 2011 tournament and just one off the course record, and had a birdie-birdie finish in Sunday’s final round to share runner-up honors.

Day, who won last year’s Byron Nelson and was 21st on the US money list, said it might be hard for him to carry over his success from the wide-open Augusta layout to a US Open setup where heavy rough lines fairways and surrounds greens.

“Augusta is a totally different course to Congressional,” Day told Reuters while taking a brief break from chipping practice at Congressional Country Club.

“Obviously the experience there was pretty great, to finish second and do what I did in the last round was fantastic. The mind-set is a little different. Par is a really good score to have around here. It’s more about survival and staying as patient as possible.

“I’m more of an aggressive player, so it’s going to be a test for myself to see if I’m patient enough with myself.”

The long-hitting Day has maintained his strong form since his Masters splash in April, adding a tie for ninth at the Heritage, a tie for sixth in the Players Championship and a fifth place at the Byron Nelson Championship.

“I just tried to work on a few things last week in my game,” he explained. “Hitting a few more drivers when I practiced.”