Heading into the weekend, the 2025 Masters leaderboard is filled with superstars. Jason Day is one of them, and he is not intimidated by the firepower represented by his fellow Masters contenders.
Day will start the third round at four under and four shots behind leader Justin Rose. And names like Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler sit between him and the lead.
But although he’s never won a Masters, he has more experience at Augusta National than almost anyone else in contention. And on Friday, he shared a blunt message for anyone who thinks this tournament is already over.
Jason Day’s Masters message
Following his second-round 70, Day spoke with reporters at Augusta. And when asked what learnings from his 14 years playing the Masters give him hope for the weekend, he identified a widely-held truth about how — and when — this tournament is usually decided: the back nine during the final round.
“Just get yourself into contention on the back side [on Sunday]. Anything happens on the back side,” Day began on Friday.
And then Day went a step further, saying that history shows some specific players tend to collapse on the back nine.
“Obviously there’s proof of certain people or individuals that have struggled on the back side and certain guys that have played well on the back side and won, too,” Day began.
But he stopped short of name-dropping his fellow contenders, whoever they may be, claiming he didn’t want to make it worse on those players with bad memories of past Masters Sundays.
“I’m not going to name names because obviously that might bring up memories of people.”
But the blunt truth Day shared, which the record shows to be true, gives him hope that he could become only the second Australian to win the Masters this week. As long as he can get within striking distance by Sunday evening.
“Get through tomorrow. I know it’s going to be tough, but get the opportunities, try and capitalize on them and then get myself into contention on the back nine on Sunday,” Day said of his plan.
However, he did share a few specifics about the challenge he faces from two of his fellow contenders: McIlroy and Scheffler.
“Looking at Rory [McIlroy], he played tremendous. Obviously he played great yesterday, too. He came home with a couple of doubles, which obviously hurts, but he’s played great golf in a very tough day and he’s two back,” Day said of McIlroy. “Obviously I know he’s trying to finish that Grand Slam that he’s been trying to get for a long time.”
“Scottie [Scheffler] is Scottie; I feel like that guy is always in contention no matter what he does. He always gives himself the opportunities. Doesn’t get too high or low. It seems like he’s always somewhere around the lead,” he said of the defending champion. “For me, I’m kind of under the radar, which is nice. I feel like sitting at T9 is good going into the weekend. I just keep my head down and keep pushing.”
Recent Masters Sunday collapses
Players crumbling under pressure on Masters Sunday has been a feature of the tournament since it began in 1934. And a few contenders at this year’s Masters have an unfortunate history of their own.
Though he won the Masters in just his second try in 2015, Jordan Spieth is one of those players. The very next year, Spieth held a five-shot lead heading to the second nine on Sunday. His second-straight victory was all but assured.
But then Spieth rinsed two shots at the par-3 12th hole, and within an hour, he’d lost the lead and would never get it back. That was the worst, but not the only example of Spieth’s struggles on the back nine.
But Spieth is 10 back heading into Round 3, so Day is less likely to have to worry about him. McIlroy, on the other hand, poses a bigger problem.
But McIlroy’s unfortunate history on Masters Sunday is well known. It is the only major he has not won, despite several close calls. The closest was in 2011, when McIlroy carried a four-shot lead into the back nine on Sunday. The wheels then fell off completely with a triple bogey on 10 and double on 12. Fourteen years later, Rory’s locker is still missing a green jacket.
McIlroy also had a mini-meltdown this year. On Thursday, he was four under and near the lead when he made two late double bogeys to fall back to even par.
Jason Day’s Masters history
Day finished T2 in that same 2011 Masters, far higher than McIlroy’s eventual finish, in what was his Masters debut.
He added a third-place finish in 2013 and a T10 in 2016, one year after winning the 2015 PGA Championship.
While he also recorded a T5 in 2019, the year Tiger Woods won his fifth Masters title, recent results have not been as good.
Day has struggled with injuries for years, and his Masters finishes show that. He missed the cut in 2020 and 2021 and didn’t play in 2022.
But in the last couple of years, Day has experienced a career renaissance. He captured his 13th PGA Tour victory at the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson. That ended a five-year win drought. He finished T2 at the Open Championship that year, and his Masters results have improved as well, a T39 in 2023 and a T30 in 2024.
He’s well on his way to another high finish this year. But can he win his second major, 10 years after his first? We’ll have to wait until the back nine on Sunday to find out.
