For Jason Day and Rory McIlroy, relaxation might be key at Masters

Jason Day and Rory McIlroy remember the carefree days of driving down Magnolia Lane at Augusta National Golf Club when they weren’t yet encumbered by the weight of world ranking points and expectations that they do something special every time they tee it up.

There was Day’s first Masters in 2011, when he shot a stunning 64 in his second official round and ended up tying for second.

That was the same year that McIlroy, in his third Masters, led going into the back nine on Sunday before a shocking collapse.

In the four Masters since, neither Day nor McIlroy has been able to seize a green jacket while managing to win other majors, and the grandness of being at Augusta has been tinged by the grind to get better here.

Presumably without a powwow between them, each decided to alter his approach to this year’s Masters as the pressure mounts.

They’ve reasoned that the best route to the Butler Cabin ceremony on Sunday night might be stripping away the mystique of the place and just playing golf.

“Yeah, that’s basically it,” McIlroy said. “I really feel like I play my best golf when I’m more relaxed, when I’m having fun out there, and I’m not overdoing it, not overthinking it.”

Said Day, “I just want to make sure I don’t overdo it. And this has been a tournament in the past that I’ve tried too hard and shot myself out of the tournament.”

It’s understandable for newcomers to arrive at Augusta and feel as if they’re kindergartners assigned to masters-level geometry. They gobble up advice from veterans, study the angles, hit chip after chip, roll putt after putt in trying to find some semblance of precision.

McIlroy did that for most of the seven years he played the Masters. His results are admirable. The Irishman has posted his best finishes at Augusta in the last two years — eighth and fourth.

But that’s not good enough for the 26-year-old Irishman, who has won four majors and 23 tournaments worldwide. Losing is losing.

This year, McIlroy didn’t make any side trips to play at Augusta, nor did he arrive early. He begged off the par-three contest Wednesday and got serious in practice rounds by playing in matches.

McIlroy said he shaped shots out of the woods and pine straw. He took his medicine in bunkers. He didn’t hit a bunch of drives. No mulligans allowed.

“Sort of putting yourself under pressure in practice rounds already,” McIlroy said. “It’s a very special event and obviously it is different in its own way, but I don’t want to treat it any differently. I want to come here and prepare the best way possible for me.”

Feeling “more exposed in terms of eyeballs on me” last year, McIlroy shot himself out of the tournament early by stumbling to three-over in the first 27 holes. He carded 15-under the rest of the way, but finished six shots behind winner Jordan Spieth’s record-tying performance.

“I’ve started to realize that this is probably one of the courses we play all year that you can be super-aggressive and take on pins,” McIlroy said. “The greens are big greens, but they are in four or five different sections and you’re really just trying to get it in that certain section.

“You have to be aggressive on some shots, but others you know par is a good score. I feel like I’ve learned the balance of this course over the years.”

Day, 28, was a precocious Masters starter in his first three appearances, sandwiching second- and third-place finishes around a withdrawal because of an ankle injury. In the last two years, the Australian hasn’t finished better than 20th while notching eight top-10s in the other three majors, including his PGA Championship victory last August.

Day said he went from enjoying simply being at Augusta to answering all the questions about when he was going to win. That led to the thought: “I’ve got to force it this year.”

“And that’s when I started missing stuff and making mistakes and mental errors,” he said. “So this year I’m just going through my normal game plan and just play — try and play the way I’ve been playing and hopefully I’ll give it a good run at the end of the week.”

As the world No. 1 coming off a victory in the WCG-Dell Match Play, Day has been installed by oddsmakers as the slight favorite over McIlroy and Spieth. But maybe in an effort to relieve that pressure, Day said, “To be honest, I don’t think I’m the favorite.

“There are so many players who can win around here, and there’s not just one heavy favorite this week, which is fantastic.”

He reeled off the names so many others have cited as contenders: Henrik Stenson, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson.

“I enjoy and thrive off that competition,” Day said. “I would enjoy a Spieth McIlroy Fowler Scott Watson Mickelson Sunday.”

So might golf fans.

“That,” Day said, “would be a lot of fun.”

tod.leonard@sduniontribune.com