U.S. Open: Jason Day has game to conquer challenging Oakmont

OAKMONT, Pa. — Jason Day is under the weather, a cold presently zapping his strength and scratching his throat. The forecast doesn’t look promising, with rain and possible thunderstorms  beginning Wednesday night. And Oakmont Country Club certainly isn’t the place to recuperate.

Other than that, the world No. 1 said he’s primed to chase the U.S. Open title.

“Your attitude has to be on point,” Day said Tuesday. “You have to have a good attitude regardless of what the situation is.”

His present situation isn’t optimal considering his temperature. But stress, it seems, doesn’t get to Day. The more he’s on edge the more the man from Down Under digs deep.

He survived a troubled and rebellious childhood. He overcame a period when he didn’t want to be on the course and contemplated quitting the game. In recent years he’s battled through vertigo, which knocked him to the ground in the second round in last year’s U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. He got back up, tied for the lead through 54 holes and wound up tying for ninth.

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And he’ll tell you it hasn’t been a stress-free romp of late despite his resumé showing seven titles in his last 18 worldwide starts, a stretch that included his maiden major at the 2015 PGA Championship, two FedExCup victories, a World Golf Championship triumph and The Players Championship.

Getting to No. 1 – and staying there – provides its own anxiety, too.

So a little cold – and a monster named Oakmont – won’t dim Day’s day.

“I'm at the back end of a cold. You can probably hear it in my voice, but I'm fine. I'm going to do fine. It's not an excuse. I'm going to be ready for the start Thursday,” Day said. “It's just that things happen. I was just going to say that I've never been more stressed in my life than right now. It's just because being No. 1 in the world, having a lot of expectations on you, having to practice so hard to keep that No. 1 spot, trying to win as many tournaments as I can puts a lot of stress and pressure on your shoulders.

“Sometimes your immune system gets a little heated, and you're more susceptible to getting some illnesses that way. … So it is what it is.”

Day will make his sixth start in the U.S. Open. He finished second in 2011, in a tie for second in 2013 and in a tie for fourth in 2014. The challenge an Open presents – thick rough, firm, fast greens, thin fairways and inflexible bunkers – whets Day’s appetite.

“This is one tournament that is very stressful and I feel like I thrive under stress, and hopefully I can do that this year,” Day said. “ … I still have my doubts, and my confidence goes up and down, but I feel like I'm more focused and driven to win tournaments like this now than I ever have before.

“If I win tournaments like this, it's just more so for the glory of winning it and the ...  pride in what you do to get to that moment of winning a tournament, walking down 18. And it would be pretty nice to walk up here and know that you have the lead and finish it off here.”

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He certainly has the arsenal to deal with Oakmont – power, precision and touch on and around the greens. He knows he’ll have to dial back his power, choosing safer routes with lesser clubs. Then again, he can spank his 2-iron 295 yards with accuracy, a huge weapon this week.

And the expected heat on the weekend – and the heat that comes with contending – won’t be an enemy.

“I feel good about where I'm at right now with regards to my game,” Day said, adding his prep work has been superb. “U.S. Opens are always stressful. … You just get out there and it's like, “OK, I've just got to somehow survive this week’ and hopefully it works out.”