Jason Day Explains Why Olympics Made Him 'The Most Nervous' He's Ever Been
Jason Day says pulling on his national team colours at the Olympics resulted in him feeling the most nervous he's ever been


Jason Day has been World No.1 and won a Major, but pulling on an Australia shirt in the Olympics took him by surprise as he was overcome with nerves at Le Golf National.
Day carded a first round of 69 to sit six shots off Hideki Matsuyama but still in touch after the opening 18 holes of the men's Olympic golf tournament.
Although he's experienced almost everything in the game, pulling on his national team colours just hit a bit different for Day - and he really felt it.
He said looking down at the famous Australian green and gold filled him with a sense of national pride - but also unprecedented nerves.
"This is probably the most nervous I’ve been wearing a set of clothes that you look down and see the colours," said Day after his round.
"The first couple holes caught me off-guard actually quite a lot. I was quite nervous standing over the first tee shot and then it took me a few holes to get over it.
"It’s amazing, we’re not playing for money this week obviously. We are playing for a medal and you’re here for kind of playing for free. But my point is, is that like it feels totally different.
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"This is the most I’ve felt nervous standing on a tee box wearing a set of clothes that I’m wearing for the first time. It’s a good feeling because it just shows that it means a lot to me, which is good. So I’m happy about it."
Much like Rory McIlroy, Day was surprised but delighted with the bumper crowd that attended the opening day at the stunning Le Golf National.
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"I heard the crowd when I was on the putting green, screaming over there, and you go down the stairs, going from 1 to 2 to 3, it was impressive. It's impressive to see how much sport brings a lot of people together.
"It's a beautiful sport, isn't it, firstly, and this is a great golf course. I think it's a great venue. Paris is a really cool spot to come to. Feel very lucky to be able to play in front of a crowd like this for sure."
With golf's reintroduction in Rio 2016 a low key one due to Zika virus and Tokyo being blighted by Covid, this is the first proper Olympic tournament for the sport to showcase at it's best - with a famous venue packed with fans.
Day says there's a "different vibe" about it this year, and although still miles behind the Majors in importance, there's potential for an Olympic gold medal to become almost equally sought after.
"Potentially. That takes time and history. Over time, we're in our third Olympics in since the 1900s. I think at some point it will," Day said of where an Olympic medal could stand in the future.
"Just because there's only one of them, you know what I mean. Currently on the men's side, there's only one gold medal that you can win.
"It's not like you can jump into swimming and if you're good enough, you can jump into different races. Over time it will just get bigger and bigger."

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.
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