“It’s not good to be wrong in golf, it might be good to be wrong as a weatherman.
Day was also highly critical of himself, reflecting on his own errors as the root cause for his poor round. He said he would speak to his performance coach on Thursday night to try to rectify the situation before he tees off for his second round.
Adam Scott plays a shot on the 12th hole.Credit: Getty Images
“My process out there was actually quite horrific … I’ve been a professional too long to get this wrong. To work hard coming into this week and then to go out there and have poor process is not acceptable, especially in my eyes. I have no one else other than myself to blame.”
It was also a tough day for Smith. The 2022 Open champion bogeyed the first hole after finding the long grass off the tee and made a rare double bogey on the ninth to be four over at the turn.
It’s at that point the Queenslander said he gave himself a stern talking to. He didn’t want to repeat what he said because he didn’t want to use expletives.
“I can’t say it,” he laughed. “I’ve just been doing a really good job of committing to swings and committing to shots. I think being a little bit uncomfortable out there, it just kind of slipped my mind a few times and hit a few bad shots and got myself into a bit of trouble when I really shouldn’t have.
Marc Leishman tees off on the first hole.Credit: Getty Images
“I’ve been swinging the club really nicely. Like I said, I just need to go out there and commit to some swings. I was able to do that on the back nine and give myself a lot of looks, which was nice.
Smith said whoever is able to grind away through the conditions and hold on for long enough will put himself in contention late on Sunday.
“I think that’s every major. You see the guys that are playing well, and generally the guys at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the week are the guys that are grinding it out and really putting 100 per cent into every shot.
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“For sure that’s how it’s going to be. Looks like we’re going to get a bit of Open weather here the next few days. Yeah, kind of strap in.”
Meantime, Leishman was critical of the slow pace of play on the course. Several groups were taking well in excess of five hours to complete their rounds, which is extraordinary given they are playing in groups of three and not four.
“I think I got up about 8:00, watched an hour. Felt like we were on the golf course for about 12 hours. We’ve been on the course for three hours through eight holes. That was tough to deal with, especially coming from somewhere where we play in under 4 1/2 every week.
“You got to deal with all that sort of stuff, and I felt like I dealt with it decently well. Just got a little frustrated there. I thought I was playing really good and not getting anything out of it, but the conditions were tough. Hopefully just get a good one going in the morning.”
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