Jason Day says there’s been a ‘dramatic improvement’ in one part of his game ahead of the final round of The American Express

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It has been a frustrating few years for Jason Day as the Australian desperately tries to get back to something like the level which saw him reach the summit of the world golf rankings back in 2015.

Jason Day had an underwhelming 2024 season having ended a five year wait for a win on the PGA Tour the previous season. The 37-year-old registered four top 10s, with his best result being a tied fourth finish at the Wells Fargo Championship.

But, after finishing in a tie for 40th at The Sentry, Day is very much in the mix heading into the final round of The American Express. The 2015 PGA Champion finds himself tied for second, four shots back of Sepp Straka.

With every player in the top eight posting at least one round of 65 or better this week, it seems that there are likely to be plenty more twists to come over the final 18 holes.

Jason Day says there’s been a ‘dramatic improvement’ in his game

It would be a big boost for Day if he could get the victory – his 14th on the PGA Tour during his career – but it appears that, whatever happens on Sunday, he is very pleased with the direction he is heading in with his game.

“There’s been a dramatic improvement in the technical aspect on the swing. Just feels like the club’s a little bit for square coming through the shot, and that’s a little bit more controllable, which is nice. The swing’s improved, which is good,” he said after round three.

“One thing that held me back last year was approach play into the greens. Putting’s been solid pretty much every year, driving’s been pretty solid too, same as short game. So that was kind of like the missing piece for me. So it’s been a good start, don’t really think about it too much, just get into it tomorrow and go from there.”

The glaring weakness in Day’s game during the 2024 season

It was alarming how far behind Day’s approach play was from the rest of his game previously. He was actually in the top 10 for strokes gained putting on the PGA Tour in 2024. Meanwhile, he was 74th off the tee.

However, he fell down to 152nd for strokes gained with his approach play. When you consider what Scottie Scheffler achieved with his flawless iron play, it is clear that Day could not allow that part of his game to continue at that level if he wanted to get back amongst the very best.

It is still too early to draw many conclusions from the opening weeks of this season. The likes of Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have not yet played on the PGA Tour this year.

But a win for Day will do his confidence the world of good, particularly when he appears to have found fresh belief with his game.