Jason Day gets ‘confidence boost’ from Tiger

• Jason Day revealed Tiger’s words gave him ‘confidence boost’
• The 27-year-old co-leads the Open heading into the final round
• Believes Spieth is the favourite, despite being one shot behind

Jason Day has revealed that the words of close friend Tiger Woods has given him a ‘confidence boost’ as he aims to claim his first major title at the Open.

The 27-year-old, who has three runner-up finishes in his major career so far, has a share of the lead alongside Louis Oosthuizen and amateur Paul Dunne heading into the final round at St Andrews after a five-under-par third round.

It’s the seventh time that Day has been inside the top four after 54 holes in a major since 2010 – more than any other player in that span – and he said that playing alongside Woods for his opening two rounds and knowing what the 14-time major winner achieved on the Old Course in 2000 and 2005 gave him a lift heading into the final two rounds.

“As we were walking off the green, he said, go get it done” – Jason Day

“It’s good to be mates with him and every time I’m playing or in contention, he always sends me a text saying, you know what you need to do,” said Jason Day. “As we were walking off the green, he said, go get it done.

“To be able to play golf against arguably one of the best players in the world, a winner of 14 majors, to be able to hear his advice gives you a boost of confidence to know that you’re doing the right things and that he believes in your skills.”

CONTINUES BELOW…

Day looks set to better his previous best Open finish of T30 in 2011 and despite being one shot better off than Jordan Spieth heading into the final round, believes that the Masters and US Open champion is favourite to lift the Claret Jug and go one step closer to completing an historic calendar year grand slam.

“He’s definitely the favourite” – Jason Day

“I’d be very shocked if he’s not in contention going up the last few holes,” said Jason Day. “Even though he’s 21, he’s very mature for his age, very patient with himself and putts better than everyone else. He’s definitely the favourite.

“I’m definitely going to try and fly under the rader, but it’s hard when you’re in the last two groups of the championship in the last round. The more times I put myself here, the more time I want to be here.

“Hopefully over time I start to change that and hopefully through winning more of these tournaments, I start to become the heavy favourite, which is ultimately what I want.”

Jason Day :: A maiden major win?

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