World Number 6 Jason Day is looking to re-capture the form he had at St Andrews during The Open Championship in 2015, a top-5 finish his best result at the prestigious tournament.

The 2017 season has proven a tough slog for the Queenslander compared to his stellar last two years on the circuit which yielded eight victories over 2015 and 2016, a second place finish in the AT&T Byron Nelson his best finish so far this year.

While The Open has previously proven a difficult week for Day, his T4 finish two years ago is proof he can contend at Royal Birkdale this week.

“This has always been one of those weeks that has been a little bit tough for me with my Major performances. My best finish obviously at St. Andrews in 2015, finishing tied for 4th there,” Day said.

“If you take my years 2015 and 2016, I hit it long and straight, straight-ish. I hit my iron shots a lot closer and I holed everything on the greens. And this year it’s not as long, it’s not as straight. My iron shots aren’t as close, and I’m not holing as many putts. So it’s a perfect formula for not having a good year.”

The former World Number 1 who struggled with injuries towards the end of the 2016 season; says re-capturing the form that saw him elevated to the best golfer in the world has been a slow, arduous process and something he is taking one step at a time to find.

“I feel like I got a little bit burned out the end of 2016, and take a couple of injuries in that, as well. My back was really letting me down a lot during the latter part of 2016. And I was very disappointed in that.

“And you take the burnout factor and the injuries and just being fed up with it, the pressure of being Number 1 was difficult, as well. And it got to me little bit. And unfortunately I think I’ll handle it a little bit differently when I get back there hopefully one day,” Day added.

“I’ve just got to keep working at it. The hardest thing is being able to take your own advice sometimes. It’s so easy to give advice out. And my advice is to be as patient as possible and just keep ticking the boxes, and hopefully the work and the workload pay off in the long run.”

The top-5 finish at St. Andrews two years ago broke a recent string of average performances for Day, he immediately followed up with a win at the Canadian Open and would go on to win the PGA Championship, his first Major win.

And while some parallels could drawn between then and now, Day remains faithful to the process he’s been on this year both on and off the course.

“You always have to believe in yourself. It’s easier said than done. But I’ve just got to resolve myself to the fact that I’ve worked very, very hard and been disciplined over the weeks, that I’m doing the right things not only on the practise range, on the golf course, but in the gym and off the golf course, as well.
“I’ve got to just try and start with tomorrow’s first ball and just somehow find it on Sunday and hopefully I’m there in contention on Sunday.”

In what may in hindsight be looked on as a good omen for this week, Day was recognised for his 41 weeks as World Number 1 with the Mark McCormack award, presented to the player who spent most weeks at Number 1 in the World Rankings.

His campaign to climb back there from 6^th continues at Royal Birkdale when he tees off tonight 10:07pm AEST.