Jason Day shoring up iron play, seeking 'balance' in game

Preparing for his first title defense of a PGA Tournament in five years, Australian Jason Day said that he hadn't been "pleased" with his game of late, saying his iron play had been "letting me down."

Day made the comments Wednesday at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, ahead of this week's CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Day ended a five-year winless drought last year, a "little too long if you ask me," and is now a defending champ for the first time since winning the Wells Fargo Championship almost six years ago, May 6, 2018.

And while he spoke of how "mentally tough" he can be in general, right now it's his irons giving him fits. He's finished 30th or worse three times in his last five tournaments with a missed cut mixed in, too.

"In regards to my play, I hadn't been that happy with it or that pleased with it. My short game has been great. Putting has been great. Off the tee has been great. The iron play has been kind of letting me down," Day said, coming off a T18 at RBC Heritage. "So just working on a few things with (coach) Chris (Como) to try and like alleviate some of the stress and pressure that the iron play is putting on the rest of my game.

"I feel like I've kind of turned a corner now, which has been great."

Day said he didn't celebrate his win last year, the 13th of his career.

"I typically don't celebrate after a win, which is kind of weird," he said.

He also said he's striving for the kind of balance that Scottie Scheffler is playing with amid his hot streak.

"Right before last year when I was playing some nice golf I was kind of playing golf for the wrong reasons I thought," Day said. "You know, like I feel like looking kind of in the future and understanding that golf is like more of a marathon and it's a long career if you want it to be; kind of playing from more of a position of like love and passion of the game is I think far healthier to play from than having a chip on your shoulder.

"There are guys that play from a good position of balance and love. Looking at Scottie Scheffler right now, he is playing some of the best golf we've seen in a long time, probably since the Tiger days," Day added. "He seems like a very well-balanced person. It's very difficult to do."