Day ends ‘touch and go’ Masters with four birdies on back nine

Jason Day finished strong after four tough days at the Masters.

Day birdied four holes on the back nine to end his final round with a 1-under-par 71 on Sunday. For the tournament, however, Day posted a score of 2 over and was well out of contention by Saturday.

Day was pleased with how he performed during the second half of Sunday after a sluggish start.

“Obviously, kind of a touch and go week for me this week,” Day said. “I'm looking forward to coming back next year. It's always a pleasure to come here. It was a fun week.”

Day, ranked No. 3 in the world, entered the week as one of the favorites to win. He also was dealing with a ton of emotion weighing on him as his mother recently underwent an operation to remove a cancerous mass from her left lung.

Day began his final round with bogeys on Nos. 2 and 3 and shot a 2-over 38 on the front nine. After a bogey No. 11, Day responded strong with birdies on Nos. 13, 15, 17 and 18. He shot a 3-under 33 on the final nine holes at Augusta National Golf Club. It was the second consecutive day he shot a 33 on the back nine. Day did so Saturday en route to a 3-under 69, his best round of the tournament.

Day said it took some time to adjust to the fast and firm greens early. Once he was able to do so on the backside, Day was able to sink some shots for the solid finish.

“The hardest thing is obviously to get yourself in position,” Day said. “The next step is just capitalizing on those opportunities.”

This story was originally published April 9, 2017 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Day ends ‘touch and go’ Masters with four birdies on back nine."