Jason Day & Lydia Ko

December 10, 2025

MODERATOR:  We would like to welcome Jason Day and Lydia Ko into the interview room here at the Grant Thornton Invitational, our 2023 Champions.

Welcome back. Finished sixth last year. Lydia, we’ll start with you. You guys won this tournament two years ago. Talk a little bit about what it’s like playing with Jason and how you guys mesh as a team.

LYDIA KO:  Yeah, it’s pretty cool that I get to do this alongside Jason for the third consecutive year. This tournament is great. We don’t really  as much as people think, I don’t think we cross paths that much. Maybe for some sponsor things here and there, but other than that, our schedules are pretty busy.

This is a really cool way to end the season. It was fun to come down this stretch with Jason in ’23 and end up winning. Yeah, I think for me, I learn a lot this week seeing how the guys play and how they go about their business, so I’m excited to be here again. Hopefully we have a great week.

MODERATOR:  Jason, what’s it like playing with Lydia?

JASON DAY:  It’s great. I mean, obviously I said it out there that she’s a Hall of Famer. It’s always nice to be around greatness and kind of see what she does not only before the round, what she does practicing. You can always learn. Every tournament you play you can always learn especially from anyone that you’re around. Lydia’s a complete professional when it comes to her golf game. It’s nice to be able to see what she does great on the golf course. Talking about what she does great, how she does it, and then trying to put that into my game somehow.

I’m always trying to learn. Obviously I know that Lydia’s had a lot of success ever since she’s 15 years old being on the tour to right now, she’s had a tremendous success and I’ve always been a big fan. I’m always looking forward to playing with Lydia out there on the golf course, especially a week like this where it is fun.

MODERATOR:  Let’s talk a little bit about the state of your games coming into this week and we’ll open up for questions. Jason, start with you.

JASON DAY:  I don’t know. I have no idea. I haven’t played for a while. I played Utah, which is about a month ago. Had to test some clubs, some new clubs. Then I’ve had about another month off. So been just trying to get a handle on those clubs. But it feels pretty good right now so I’m looking forward to a good week, trying to ease my way into the week. Then obviously tomorrow’s another proam, but once tomorrow’s done and we get past that, then the focus is start to get back into game mode.

MODERATOR:  And Lydia, 2024 is one of those years that I know you will never forget. Let’s talk about 2025, you won the HSBC. Just talk a little bit about your season and the state of your game as well.

JASON DAY:  Yeah, last year was really unbelievable so I think coming into 2025 my goal was to have at least one win and I got the win out of the way early in Singapore this year.

I think the middle part of the season could have been a lot better. I joked that I made no money in July, so July wasn’t great. But other than that, I feel like it’s been a year where I’ve learned a lot about my game.

Sometimes you just look at the results  did I make a top 10, did I make the cut, did I win  but I think there’s a lot of takeaways that you get from events and I feel like I had a lot of growth in that sense.

I’ve also had like three weeks off before this one, so we are all coming in refreshed. I think that’s the great thing about this event. As much as we really want to win, I think it is probably a little bit more lighter and we’re just trying to enjoy it. Some of the players do club testing this week as well. I think it’s just a great event to kind of set for next year as well.

Q.  Obviously year three of the partnership, but for those of us that are maybe just tuning in this year for the Grant Thornton Invitational, how did the partnership come to be and how has the relationship maybe grown year after year?

LYDIA KO:  Always want to toss it over.

JASON DAY:  I opted when they were saying, hey, who would you like to play with, there was a list, and I was like that one right there, Lydia Ko. That’s kind of how we started that.

But the friendship’s been great ever since. We gelled so well the first year, just the last three years have been amazing to be teaming up with each other and obviously getting to know each other more, getting to know the caddies more. Like obviously Paul and Brucie are good friends as well.

I don’t know how much longer I’ve got with her, I’m not sure when she’s going to retire. At some point she’s going to retire at some point, so I’m trying to hang onto her shirt for as long as I can.

LYDIA KO:  Yeah, it’s been so much fun. I’ve always been a fan of Jason’s. When they were like, “Would you like to play with Jason Day?” I was like, “Would you like to play with Jason Day?” You have to say that in your mind. Like wow, it’s like a dream come true.

I was glad that we won in ’23 because I thought that would up our chances of playing together the year after. Just to be here three years straight, it’s awesome. I just have a great time and I think the chemistry we have between us and our caddies, I think that is probably the best part of this week. We all just have a good laugh out there and I think that’s why we also do well in the conditions as well.

Q.  And some new faces, some new teams this year. As year 3, what are some of the keys to success out there in terms of working with each other or even kind of navigating the course?

JASON DAY:  You want to go?

LYDIA KO:  OK, yeah. It’s always hard to play with a new partner. I think we are some of the, I think there’s less than a handful of players that have played together especially the last three years. It’s easiest for us in the sense of we don’t need to get used to the other player’s game on a Tuesday.

But for us, I think like Jason’s so easy in the sense if I do put the ball in a weird or questionable position, he’s like, “I’ve got it, don’t worry about it.” To have a partner that’s very relaxed and is positive, has a positive approach makes it a little bit less stressful for me.

Obviously I still want to hit good shots and give ourselves  give us a lot of good opportunities, but it’s golf. Everybody who knows the sport knows we’re not going to be perfect in each shot. Just to have a partner in those kind of positions, I’d rather be there with Jason than just be by myself. I feel like we’re stronger together in that sense.

Yeah, you know, I think we’re both very easygoing, so we don’t really have a bias if somebody’s open to hitting the first tee shot on 1, Jason will do that and vice versa. I think that’s what made it easy for us and I think that’s what worked well. I don’t think that tactic will change going forward.

JASON DAY:  Yeah, I mean, she talks about hitting into questionable spots. I’ve never seen her do that. For me, it’s always the other way around.

I think having Lydia as a partner, her demeanor and the way she carries herself out there, she’s very calm even under situations like real pressure situations. I remember 2023 when she hit that 3wood on 17, I mean, that was  that was tough. I was like kind of out of position and she stood up there and hit 3wood to 8, 10 feet. That really sealed the deal for us. That was a crucial hole or a very, very pivotal hole for us to be able to walk down 18, not have to worry too much about like having to hit really good shots down 18, especially into the green.

With her and the way that she carries herself under pressure, there’s a reason why she’s won so many times. It was really cool to see.

Like anytime like if I’m feeling nervous out there, like obviously everyone feels nervous out there, but it’s nice to be able to look across the table and see someone that’s very calm and stoic in pressure situations. It’s been an absolute joy to be able to be around Lydia and her caddie Paul.

Q.  Since you’ve played together now the third year, you mentioned a little bit, but have you been able to take something from each other’s game and maybe put it towards your game?

JASON DAY:  Plenty from her game, probably not from mine.

Her wedge game, like her practice, the way she practices her wedges, she puts coins out on the driving range. The way that  I really love her putting technique, I think her putting technique is just off the charts. She did say that she changed putters, but not dramatically.

LYDIA KO:  It’s the same but with a different grip.

JASON DAY:  There’s like subtle changes about it, but like everything that she does kind of wedges in around the green, I take a lot of notice. Especially mainly wedges, like that’s something I’ve always tried to improve. It’s always hard. Like anyone that plays the game, it’s very difficult to control flights, trajectories, spins. You know, it’s hard. Like she seems to do it very, very well. The way that she does it is very simple.

That’s kind of the way that my mind thinks about when I’m playing golf, I try to keep things as simple as possible, and she does. She just repeats it over and over again every time she has a range session and that’s why she’s so good. I’m working towards that, let’s say that, Lee.

LYDIA KO:  Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest thing that I learnt was Jason’s routine, how he walks into the shot, how he goes through his thought process with club selection and all that. I feel like it was very consistent and I always say that I try  I try and do a good job of the things that I can control, and your preshot routine, those kind of things are in my control where what the ball does is really out of my control.

Just seeing how meticulous he was with that and how consistent that was, I’m sure he didn’t just wake up one day and found that routine, right? He found what worked, does he need to be faster, slower, what does he need to incorporate. Just seeing that in person, you get a better idea of that, so that was really cool.

I tried to follow Jason’s chipping technique last year and I realized it’s not for me.

JASON DAY:  You don’t want to go full JDay.

LYDIA KO:  It’s pretty impressive. I feel like Jason has a unique but very consistent style of short game but hits so many different types of shots with that. I didn’t know that was possible.

I think I would have to restart my golfing short game career if I was to do this Jason style. It was really cool to kind of see that and try that and go, wow, I wonder how he does that.

This week is just so cool because it doesn’t matter if you’re the No. 1 ranked player in the world or 50th or 100th, I think there’s always room for improvement. I literally get, you know, a seat right next to it and watch it all in front of me. There’s a lot of things that I think all of us are taking away from each other.

MODERATOR:  Good stuff. Lydia, Jason, best of luck this week.

Corporate partners