Jason Day back in business for THE PLAYERS Championship

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Jason Day is “cautiously optimistic” of contending well at THE PLAYERS Championship after getting cortisone injections in his back last week.

Day withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard after six holes on Thursday last week with an annular tear in the disc between his L4 and L5 vertebrae.

But the 2016 champion at TPC Sawgrass believes the subsequent treatment and injections should have him right to go come Thursday.

Prior to getting the four anti-inflammatory injections, Day sought out advice from Tiger Woods – who is no stranger to back problems after four surgeries.

“I talked to him about what it was like getting injections, and my big concern was if I got them, how long would it last, and it just depends on the person,” Day said.

“I think for him it lasted three days, so going into it you're like, well, OK, hopefully mine takes a little bit longer to last."

“I feel really cautiously optimistic about how things are progressing and the way that I feel.”

The injections around his spine were administered on Thursday after his withdrawal.

On Friday, Day found himself the center of a social media storm when he was pictured walking around Disney World with his family.

Some felt it was a bad look given it came after his eighth career WD (in 237 starts), but Day had been advised to stay moving after the shots.

And he prefers the company of family over loneliness.

“It (Disney) was fantastic. I didn't get to ride any rides, I was just walking around, unfortunately, but yeah, it was nice to be able to spend some time with the family,” Day said.

“I was there half a day walking around. My doctor didn't want me to lay down. He just wanted me to walk around, stay on my feet, kind of get things loose, and then after that I went and saw my physio, Stewart, at the golf course.”

The Australian tries not to think about long-term back problems despite dealing with injuries since he was 13.

“When I have an injury, I get sad and depressed,” he admitted.

“The hard thing about injuries is that no matter how many times you've had them, it feels like your world's ending… It honestly feels like is this going to be the last time that I'm going to pick up a golf club."

“And it's not great for you mentally to come back from an injury, so your confidence is kind of like hit a little bit. But overall, I feel good about it… and I'm looking forward to kind of getting this week underway.”

As far as the social media storm Day admitted it is sometimes tough to take the higher ground.

But the 12-time TOUR winner knows he has things better than most.

“If people make memes about me. I think a lot of them are funny,” Day said.

“I mean, it's fine. It is what it is. People trying to be funny and that, I get a good laugh out of it and I'm OK with that. You can tell between people that are being funny and people that are actually trying to – that really hate you."

“When you see someone write something or someone says something to you, you feel like deep down inside you want to defend yourself. But like, you're in a better spot, you know what I mean?"

“You're walking inside the ropes, you're playing golf for a living, you're doing a lot of good things. I've got a good family. I've got three kids that are healthy and happy at home. I'm in a tremendous spot.”