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Jason Day doesn’t care about slow play criticism

Australia's Jason Day during a press conference on practice day four of The Open Championship 2017 at Royal Birkdale.
Australia's Jason Day during a press conference on practice day four of The Open Championship 2017 at Royal Birkdale.

Jason Day doesn’t care if people regard him as one of the slowest players in professional golf.

The 29-year-old, who won his first major at the 2015 US PGA Championship, hopes to become the third Australian to lift the Claret Jug at Birkdale.

Peter Thomson managed the feat twice in 1954 and 1965, while Ian Baker-Finch enjoyed the greatest moment of his career at Southport in 1991.

Day’s preparations for the Open were cut short after he abandoned plans to fly out of New York on Saturday evening because he feared delays due to US President Donald Trump using the same airport. He eventually flew out on Monday and didn’t play his first practice round until Tuesday.

The Aussie, without a win since last year’s Players Championship at Sawgrass, has been frequently criticised for his leisurely pace of play but he remains unrepentant.

He said: “I’ve been put on the clock already this year so it doesn’t really worry me too much.

“Last year I was put on the clock once and I think this year maybe once or twice.

“The only reason a lot of people think I’m slow is that when I was playing well, I was in a lot of the last few groups on Sundays and usually everyone takes their time.

“If I’m 70th, I’m not taking much time. I’m racing around the golf course then.
“Obviously it all depends on your position but I will still definitely take my time.

“I need to make sure that I’m hitting the correct shots. At the end of my career no one is going to go, he was a great golfer, but he was slow.

“To be honest, I don’t really care what people say.

“I need to do what I need to do to win a golf tournament – within reason of respecting other players and the rules of golf.”

It has been a difficult year off the course for Day with his mother Dening undergoing surgery in March after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

The former world number one believes his recent form was affected by his concern for the well-being of his mother, who has since made a full recovery.

He said: “When you feel like you’re going to lose someone very close to you, there’s nothing you want to do more than just be with them.

“You don’t even want to think about playing golf.

“There was a stretch there where I’d just go home and just sit around with her.

“Obviously the time I normally would be practising caught up with me.

“I needed to take that time off because I thought I was losing my mom and didn’t think she was going to be around anymore.

“I wanted to spend all the time I could with her. Up to that time I’d only see her once every year and that was nowhere near enough time to spend with your mum.
“Everything seems like it’s coming back into balance for me and I’m able to focus on working hard.

“Hopefully I’ll get back to winning form and get back to number one.

“That would be the ultimate goal.”