Jason Day pleased despite loss in quarterfinals: ‘step in the right direction’

AUSTIN, Texas – Jason Day was 3 up through seven holes in his match against Scottie Scheffler on Saturday at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play when he told Golf Channel on-course analyst Notah Begay he was struggling with allergies.

Although he lost the match, 2 and 1, the Australian said afterward that he was feeling “fine” and instead focused on the positives of another solid week.

Matches and scoring from the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship

The Match Play is Day’s seventh consecutive top-20 finish to start the year and another encouraging sign as he prepares for next month’s Masters.

“It was a great step in the right direction. It opens my eyes to the fact that I have a few things I need to work on, short game-wise, putting-wise,” Day said.

Bogeys at Nos. 8 and 14 allowed Scheffler to pull away, but Day answered with birdies at Nos. 15, 16 and 17 and he was pleased with his ball-striking, finishing the week seventh in the field in strokes gained: off the tee.

“It was a couple of old swings, old patterns that came in, like 14 today, that wedge that went left, that’s just an old pattern,” Day said. “The swing overall is coming along nice. The overall game is really starting to narrow in now.”