Jason Day had a message for anyone expecting a firm, fast Augusta National on Saturday. The Australian star gave his own take after the soft conditions led to record-low scoring.

Day pointed out a contrast between how the course looked and how it actually performed.

“Yes, very deceiving, yes,” said Day during the press conference of The Masters Tournament on Saturday. Jason Day’s leaderboard position reflected the day's low scores at Augusta National.

The 13-time PGA Tour winner carded a 4-under 68, moving to 8-under for the tournament and into a tie for fifth. The round marked his best “Moving Day” score at the Masters.

“I think if they were a little bit firmer and faster, yes. But these greens, they were very receptive today. Yeah, they were very receptive today,” said Day.

His climb came through the middle stretch. Day made four consecutive birdies from the 12th through the 15th, a sequence he had last achieved at the same event in 2017. That run brought him within three shots of the lead held by Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young.

His scoring run took advantage of the course conditions.

Jason Day Links Receptive Greens to Low Scoring at Augusta

“I expected to see it a little bit different than what I saw today. I mean, you were hitting shots in there that were spinning. Typically, sometimes you get to, you know, Saturday at Augusta and they're bouncing. It's really difficult to hold some shots,” added the 38-year-old.

The round produced a scoring average of 70.63, the lowest for a third round in tournament history. A total of 19 players returned scores in the 60s, including rounds from Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Young.

“So I thought the green speeds were lovely. I thought the green firmness was great. It was very fair, and I think that's why you're seeing a lot of, like, decent scores out there, which brings in a lot of the crowd, which is great,” said Day.

Overnight watering led to slower and more receptive greens early in the day. Some players noted the difference immediately, adjusting to a surface that did not match earlier expectations.

As the round progressed, variation began to appear. Parts of the back nine firmed up with rising temperatures, while earlier holes remained more playable.

Do you think softer greens made Augusta easier than expected? Tell us in the comments and follow Club Golf for more.

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi