Jason Day sets out after the world No. 1 ranking at Doral this week with the words of Tiger Woods ringing in his ears.
Day, who is No. 2 in the world behind Jordan Spieth, told reporters in Florida today that he had called Woods, his friend, last week.
“It was a good call,” Day said Wednesday. “If you're going to pick a guy's brain, he's the guy. And every time — I can't count how many times he said effort and mindset and everything, had to do a lot with the mind.”
The Queenslander is one of eight Australians playing in the World Golf Championship's Cadillac Championship beginning late tonight, eastern time.
After a five-win season in 2015, he has begun the new year with a tie-10th, a missed cut and tied-11th at Pebble Beach. “Once I improve the mental game for myself, this is the last piece of the puzzle for me, I believe, and I think I'll be able to go out there and just kind of kill it,” Day said. “Talking to him, every time that I talk to him, it's just every time it comes up, it's mind-set, mental, mental toughness, effort.
"It didn't matter how bad it was; if it was a course that he did not like, he was just going to flat out execute you. It did not matter. That's that killer instinct that I need to get back like I had at the second half of last year, get back and take it into this year and go through with it.”
Last week's winner Adam Scott is in the field, too, looking to back up his effort at PGA National.
The world's top three players — Spieth, Day and McIlroy — are grouped together for the first round, teeing off at 3.32am Friday, Australian time.
World No. 3 Rory McIlroy is changing to left-hand low putting this week after growing frustrated with his performance on the greens in recent times. “I felt like over the past few weeks, my right hand was becoming a little bit too dominant,” McIlroy said. “I practised over the weekend just with left below right and it felt really, really good. I'm going to give it a try this week and see where we go with it.”
Woods, meanwhile, has told reporters that he has resumed chipping and putting after his recent back surgery, but has no timetable for a return to golf.