Encouragement continues for Jason Day
A venue where Day has enjoyed considerable success
He might have bogeyed his final hole on each of the opening two days of the Farmers Insurance Open, but Jason Day has continued his recent and encouraging improvement, finding himself in a share of 10th place and although seven shots from the lead of Sam Ryder he is just four shots out of second place as the event enters the weekend at Torrey Pines.
Day played the more demanding of the two layouts at Torrey Pines (The South Course) on day two and in more difficult conditions than those he faced when on the North Course on day one.
Making the turn at 1 over for the day the 35 year old birdied three holes on his way home before finding the water at the par 5 18th and dropping a shot to record a round of 71.
Day has a remarkable record at Torrey Pines with two victories, a runner-up finish and once 3rd in his previous starts in the event and coupled with his success in a Junior World Championship at the venue, then the his liking for the clifftop layouts outside of San Diego is understandable.
Day has improved his world ranking from outside the top 160 in mid-2022 to now 104th in the world which highlights his recent improvement since building a swing to accommodate the ongoing injury issues he has experienced in his career and, while still a long way from his former number one position, there is a lot to like about the way his game is progressing.
Day was the only Australasian to make the cut with Aaron Baddeley, Danny Lee, Cameron Percy, Harrison Endycott and Cam Davis missing out on the chance to play the final 36 holes.
The leader, Ryder, is ahead by three over Brendan Steele, the 33 year old producing a form turnaround to some extent given he has missed three of his last four cuts and is currently 283rd in the world ranking.
Ryder has yet to win on the PGA Tour so this weeks offers an opportunity to do just that.
“Yeah, it feels great,” said Ryder. “The thing I’ve been kind of telling myself is to just try and embrace it. It’s not a position that I’ve been in a lot, you know, so just trying to enjoy it. It’s kind of why we play, so just trying to look around and enjoy the moment.”