Jason Day will be using new irons and a new caddie at the Masters.
That might seem a bit overwhelming.
Despite a win at the Farmers Insurance Open and a second-place finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this year, Day said Monday he will use Taylor Made P730 irons this week. Certainly there is a risk involved in such a drastic change on the verge of the year’s first major golf tournament?
“I think it was the opposite,” Day said on Monday after practice at Augusta National Golf Club. “… I wasn’t quite happy with how I was hitting it at the Match Play (in March). I was launching it a little bit higher and spinning a little bit too much, and I think that everyone here knows that until you come here you don’t really - you don't understand or realize that there is a lot of breeze here at times, and you have to be able to control your trajectory and your spin.”
That’s the change in technology.
There is also a change in psychology.
In his first seven Masters appearances, Day has had Colin Swatton on his bag, the only swing coach and caddie he’s had as a professional. The two parted last September but Swatton hasn’t gone anywhere. He remains Day’s swing coach and is at the Masters this week. Day also keeps the detailed yardage book that Swatton has developed over seven trips around Augusta National. He had it with him on Monday and will this week with good friend Rika Batibasaga as his caddie.
“This week we won’t go over the (yardage) numbers because I know how thorough Colin is with being here,” Day said. “But having Rika on the bag this week, I think hopefully that will make things a little bit more light out there for me and a little bit more fun, because over the last few years it's been more of a grind trying to get that win because a lot of people have come up to me and said, ‘This is your year, this is your year, you're going to win one.’ And that can add a little bit more pressure. So hopefully I have my good close buddy out there with me and we can make things a little less stressful and go out there and have fun.”
Day admitted Batibasaga would be nervous walking down the first fairway of his first Masters. That should quickly fade as the “best buds” enjoy the experience.
Day, who had near misses at the Masters in 2001 with a tie for second and in 2013 with a third, enters as the No. 11 ranked player in the world and with 20-to-1 odds according to bookmakers.
There are big names here this week who figure to be in contention. Tiger Woods. Phil Mickelson. Rory McIlroy. Jordan Spieth. Justin Thomas. Dustin Johnson. Justin Rose. It’s a list of “big fish” that Day figures to be included among the many.
“There's not really too many big fishes anymore,” Day said. “There's like just a lot of medium‑large fish that are just trying to chomp at each other.”
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