Jason Day ready to finish dream of winning green jacket

Jason Day wants to win a green jacket so badly, he’s aware that desire might have hurt him.

“When I had the lead on 16, I wanted it so much that I think I put so much pressure on myself that I ended up bogeying 16 and 17,” Day said about the final round in the 2013 Masters Tournament. “I just want to keep knocking at the door. I think the more times I do it, hopefully it will fall my way soon. I just have to go out and try, but not try too hard, I would say.”

Day is back at Augusta Na­tional Golf Club, trying to win after two top-3 finishes at the Masters in four tries. He was healthy for those runs; he’s ready to go this time, too.

But being one of the favorites does add pressure.

“It’s tough because there’s a lot of expectation for me to go out there and play well,” Day said. “Obviously you’re out there and everyone is yelling out, saying this is your year and you have players coming up to you saying, ‘This is your year.’ Sometimes it’s hard to kind of just not get caught up in the moment when you hear that the whole time.”

In 2013, Day led by a shot with three holes remaining. Fellow Australian Adam Scott eventually won to make history for the country as the first to win the Masters.

Even with the tough setback, Day said the Masters has been special to him, in part because Tiger Woods’ dominating win in 1997 spurred him to get into the game. Finishing tied for second as a Masters rookie in 2011 helped, too, he added.

The 27-year-old is not taking any chances in preparing for this year’s tournament. He estimated he spent four hours on the back nine Monday, taking his time with chipping to get a feel for the course. As he put it, he would rather be overprepared than underprepared.

Day hasn’t been shy to address how much a Masters win would mean to him.

“Everyone has different goals in life. Everyone has different things they want to try and achieve. To win this tournament, this is one of those things that has always been a lifelong goal of mine and we’ve been working towards that,” Day said. “Winning this tournament and whatever I win after, that would be a bonus.”