World Number 3 Jason Day is teeing up at The Masters this week for the sixth time in his career and he believes he now has an understanding of the demands of Augusta National.

Day has a stellar record at The Masters with three top-10 finishes including a runner-up result in 2011.

But this year he believes he has discovered the nuances required to really master Augusta National.

“I need to respect it more and not really be too aggressive. If you’re too aggressive out here, you can put yourself in a very, very bad position.  Not so much off the tee.  There are spots off the tee that you can’t put yourself but it’s more so on the greens,” said Day.

“It’s a second‑shot golf course; if you don’t position yourself, you’re pretty much done.  It will be a very, very difficult task to make par, and sometimes you can make bogey or worse and you can’t keep giving the field shots like that.

“It’s just too easy for them to catch up or overtake you.  I think it (the course) needs a little bit more respect and I’m hoping that I can play well this week.”

Already a Major Champion, The Masters is the tournament that inspires Day to compete and he is very much hoping this is the week he slips on the Green Jacket.

“Augusta National, the Masters, is why I play golf.  And this is my favorite week of the year.  It always is.  To be able to do it this week would be great,” added Day.

“It gets me excited thinking about the possibility of actually winning and obviously accomplishing one of my life goals.

“With that said, I can’t get too far ahead of myself because, yeah, it’s only Tuesday and Sunday is a very, very long way away.”

To add that coveted item to his wardrobe Day sees Amen Corner as pivotal to success.

“There are certain holes that come up.  You’ve got your 4, your 5, they are difficult.  7 is very, very difficult.  Getting through Amen Corner is obviously key and then 17, 18,” added Day.

“It would be nice to par 11 all four days.  It would be nice to birdie 13 a couple of days and probably snag another birdie ‑‑ it would be good to play 13 two‑under, 12 one‑under, and 11 even.

“That’s a pretty big ask, isn’t it (laughter)?  Especially with the weather we’ve got coming on Thursday, Friday.  But that’s the ultimate goal is to be able to get through that little stretch,” added Day, who believe the colder than usual weather will play to his advantage.

“It’s going to be cold and it’s going to be pretty tough winds Thursday and Friday. 20‑ to 30‑mile‑an‑hour winds is not what we’re used to around here, and it is going to be cold, so the ball is not going to be flying very far.

“Typically, when its tougher conditions like that, I kind of like those tough conditions.  I feel like I’m kind of a grinder in that sense.”

It’s been a tough few weeks for the Day family, but with positive news following his mother’s lung surgery, Day has a renewed focus.

“Obviously my priority and my main focus was my mother, and now that’s kind of evolved and taken care of, and I can start to focus more on the golf side of things,” added Day.

“I’m kind of back into the rebuilding stage, and it’s weird for a person in my position to say that.  It has been a while since I’ve won and it has been a while since I’ve actually thought about golf because of what has gone on.

“So right now I’m in the process of actually trying to just do my work.  Try and get better each and every week, each and every day, and hopefully the ultimate goal is to make sure that I fit the pieces of the puzzle together and it turns into a tournament win down the road.

“That’s where I’m at right now, and I think with this tournament this week, I’m going to try to do the best job I can.”

Jason Day will spend the first two rounds at Augusta National playing with Brandt Snedeker and Justin Rose. They tee off at 10.56am local time or 12.56am Friday 7 April AEST.

You can watch The Masters live on Fox Sports or 7Mate and you can follow live scores at pga.org.au.