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Day: 'I did not know how to handle being No. 1'

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

It was a season to forget for Jason Day.

The Aussie came into the 2017 campaign as the No. 1 player in the world, thanks to winning eight times in a two-year span, and stated back in January he intended to keep the top spot throughout the year.

However, that did not happen, as Day surrendered the No. 1 ranking to Dustin Johnson in February, went winless for the first time on tour since 2013, and then split with his longtime caddie in September.

"I think I was a little burnt out from 2015 and 2016," Day told CNN. "I did not know how to handle being No. 1 at that time. The next time I get there, I will handle it a little bit differently."

The 2015 PGA champion's struggles on the course came around the same time he announced his mother was battling lung cancer in March at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.

"I didn't want to be on the golf course. I knew that if she was going to die then I wanted to spend as much time as I could with her, because I only get to see her once a year," said Day. "Fortunately the surgery went well and now I'm able to focus back on golf."

Day made his 2017-18 debut Thursday at the CJ Cup in South Korea, where he carded a 4-under-par 68. And with things stable off the course, the 29-year-old is ready to win again.

"Hopefully the distractions that I've had on the golf course and off the golf course can go away, and I can start focusing on getting back to climbing back to No. 1."

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