Golf: Day looking to overcome three-wood woes

Jason Day in action during a practise round for THE PLAYERS Championship. Photo / Getty Images

World No.1 Jason Day says he must overcome his three-wood woes if he's to buck the trend and contend at the lucrative Players Championship.

In the lead up to what is the richest purse in golf, Day admitted to having somewhat of a mental block with his three-wood.

It is an issue he's been plagued with since his junior days, and the TPC Sawgrass course exposes it like nowhere else.

Day's best finish in the event is a backdoor tie for sixth in 2011 but he's missed the cut in three of his five previous starts at the US PGA Tour's home base, including last year where he opened with a 69 before crashing to a disastrous second round 81.

Like most Pete Dye-designed courses, Sawgrass severely penalises errant shots off the tee, and the need to hit three-wood multiple times gives the 28-year-old Queenslander the fits.

"Everyone has an uncomfortable club in their bag. We just don't talk about it," Day revealed.

"I've always kind of I've overdone a draw on my three-wood too much. Driver has always been fine and the rest of the clubs have been fine.

"It's just for some reason the three-wood sometimes makes me uncomfortable."

In an effort to combat the issue of being left too often, Day will hit more two-irons off the tees and take his chances hitting longer irons into greens, rather than try to recover from trouble.

While the discomfort is on his mind, Day hopes the evolution of his mental game, which has seen him evolve into a major winner and world No.1, will put him in better stead.

"That's just what failure is about," he said.

"You fail enough times and you learn from it and you try and get better. That's how you improve yourself."

Only six Australians are in the field this year, the lowest representation in the event for 17 years.

John Senden, Steven Bowditch, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and 2004 champion Adam Scott join Day in the chase for the US$1.8million winner's cheque.