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World No. 1 Jason Day eyes green jacket at Masters

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David J. Phillip/AP

The Masters tees off at Augusta on Thursday morning.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jason Day was lurking just outside Augusta National Golf Club, wondering if he wanted to go in.

The game just wasn’t fun anymore.

Even though he was set to play in his first Masters in 2011, Day thought it might be time to do something else.

“Golf is a very, very frustrating game,” Day recalled.

Whether he was really serious about quitting, no one will ever really know. Certainly, it’s not a consideration these days.

As the 28-year-old Aussie prepares to tee off Thursday in the Masters for the sixth time, he’s ranked No. 1 in the world and coming off his first major championship, one of the favorites along with defending champion Jordan Spieth and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy.

“I feel comfortable around this course,” Day said. “I know it sets up well for me. It’s a golf course where I can compete and play well and win.”

Working against Day: the last top-ranked player to win at Augusta was Tiger Woods in 2002.

Indeed, this might be the most wide-open Masters since the pre-Tiger days.

Spieth captured the first two majors of 2015 and nearly won the other two. McIlroy is missing only the Masters from a career Grand Slam. Day and 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott are both two-time winners on the PGA Tour this year. Two other Masters champs, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel, also have victories in 2016. So does rising Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama, and let’s not forget Phil Mickelson, a three-time Masters winner and hardly ready to fade away at age 45.

“There’s a lot of guys who have a lot of success here that really brought some strong finishes and motivation and some momentum into this week,” said Spieth, who tied for second in his Masters debut in 2014 before cruising to victory with an 18-under score a year ago. “I know that the people who are down maybe a few — three, four, five shots after the first couple of rounds — are capable of making up a lot of ground here.”

Coming off one of the greatest years in golf history, Spieth isn’t even rated the favorite.

That would be Day.

Rory McIlroy needs a Masters to complete the career Grand Slam.Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Rory McIlroy needs a Masters to complete the career Grand Slam.

“He can be the favorite,” Spieth said with a shrug. “We’ll go ahead and just do our thing.”

Right before the Masters five years ago, it almost came to a head for Day during a meeting with his wife, his agent and his sports psychologist.

“I’m like, ‘I just do not like the game right now. I’m just having a very, very hard time picking up the golf club to even just enjoy myself out there,”’ Day said. “But we came to the conclusion of just going and saying, ‘This might be my last Masters ever playing, I may as well enjoy it.’

“So,” he added, with a smile, “I went out there and finished second.”

So much for finding another line of work.

Day followed up with a third-place showing in 2013. Now, having romped to victory at last year’s PGA Championship, he’s rounded out golf’s new Big Three with McIlroy and Spieth.

Jordan Spieth aims to retain his green jacket after winning in 2015.JIM YOUNG/REUTERS

Jordan Spieth aims to retain his green jacket after winning in 2015.

McIlroy, who looked to be in a league of his own just two summers ago, is now chasing the others.

That, of course, is a bit annoying for the 26-year-old from Northern Ireland.

“I’d be lying if I said those two guys having success doesn’t motivate me,” McIlroy said. “I don’t want to be left behind. I want to be part of that conversation. I’m clinging on at the moment. A few wins will change that.”

He’s not lacking for confidence at Augusta National, a place where he took a four-stroke lead to the final round in 2011 only to throw it all away with a closing 80. He’s finished in the top 10 the last two years but hasn’t really been a serious contender, leaving the Masters as the only major absent from his resume.

“This is one I wish I had caught earlier,” McIlroy, showing the impatience of youth. “You would think that this is a golf course that I can definitely win on. I know that. I just haven’t quite been able to get myself over the hurdle.”

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