Jason Day was among the first players to make his way to the Augusta National driving range ahead of this year’s Masters. The Australian, who has found himself at the centre of controversy over the past two years for his clothing choices, has been practising at the club since Friday.

Day made a point of being one of the earliest players to arrive at the range and has been dedicating three to four hours each day to fine-tuning his game. Even as temperatures soared to highs of 82F, the 38 year old has pushed through the sweltering heat to ensure he arrives in peak condition ahead of Thursday’s opening round.

Day has brought controversy with his fashion choices in recent years, with his Malbon sponsorship repeatedly pushing the boundaries of what Augusta National deems acceptable. In 2024, Day received a warning over an ‘inappropriate’ sweater and was instructed to change.

Last year, Day submitted his planned outfits for the week before the tournament, only for Masters officials to request that he tone down his designs. Malbon unveiled its 2026 Masters collection for Day last week, but those designs were once again rejected by the club.

Block colours appear to be favoured over the flamboyant bird design Malbon had put forward. That said, Day was still spotted wearing the vest during Monday’s practice session.

There can be little doubt, however, that Day’s preparations have been anything short of utterly serious.

Day finished tied-eighth at 5-under 12 months ago, falling short of Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose who surged clear on Sunday. The day before, Day admitted to feeling largely powerless when McIlroy is firing on all cylinders and suggested that even sabotaging his clubs would make little difference.

“[You] can’t do anything. You want to go over there and break every club in his bag, but that’s just not going to work,” he vented.

“He’s clearly playing some good golf, so you’ve got to do the best job you can. I’ve been on the receiving end of a couple of those where he’s run away with it a little bit, Congressional when I finished second there and he beat me by eight.”

By arriving earlier to prepare, the 2015 PGA Championship winner may well find himself in a stronger position this time around.

Day was not the only one turning up ahead of Masters Monday, with both Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau also out on the range on Sunday. Defending champion McIlroy has equally been making his presence felt at the club, attending the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and Drive, Chip and Putt competitions.

He also took his dad out for a round on Sunday afternoon.