By Tim Wharnsby
OAKVILLE, Ontario, July 24 (Reuters) - Four days after his near-miss at the British Open, Jason Day has exhibited no ill-effects from that Monday finish and his transatlantic flight to Canada.
The Australian world number nine checked in with a sparkling six-under-par 66 for a 10-under total to trail early second-round leader Chad Campbell of the United States by four shots at the RBC Canadian Open on Friday.
Brian Harman was alone at 12 under after firing a 67, finishing the round a stroke in front of fellow American Johnson Wagner (66) and Canadian David Hearn (64).
The 27-year-old Day believes he has plenty of time to rest up and also contend at the Canadian Open, despite all the travel and mental stress that comes after competing at a major championship
"I've got five hours to play and 19 hours to rest," the Australian told reporters. "So I've just got to suck it up. I've got two days left and then I can have a week off, so I'm just going to keep fighting until it's over."
Day fought hard in the British Open at St. Andrews last week, but his 25-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole ended up a few inches short of the cup.
As a result, he had to settle for a share of fourth place, just one shot out of a three-way playoff with eventual champion Zach Johnson, South African Louis Oosthuizen and Australian Marc Leishman.
It was Day's ninth top-10 finish at a major but he preferred to dwell on the positives rather than the negatives of that near-miss.
"I don't think it was a disappointment because last week I played three rounds and didn't have a bogey," the Australian said.
"It was frustrating to finish the way I did, but to be back in contention, I'm learning from each and every experience."
After a round at Glenn Abbey where he recorded an eagle, seven birdies and three bogeys, Day felt that he was fighting himself mentally more than physically after his transatlantic trip from St. Andrews.
Case in point, Day dropped a shot at the par-four fifth after his 95-yard approach shot with a lob wedge missed the green.
"It's the perfect scoring club and I missed the green," he said. "I just can't do that. That's a mental error that I shouldn't have. If I birdie instead of bogeying, that's a two-shot swing." (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)