A trip to Texas was all Jason Day needed to rediscover his golf game.

The former world No. 1 finished second at this week's AT&T Byron Nelson near Dallas, losing to Billy Horschel on the first playoff hole. But Day, who recorded just his second top 10 worldwide since August, was pleased with his performance.

"I only had one top 10 up until this point (this season)," Day said Sunday after his round. "To be able to play the way I did today, I played some good, solid golf. Obviously, once again, it's a little disappointing but it's not the first tournament I'm going to lose. I've lost plenty of other ones beforehand and I'll lose plenty more in the future.

"I got to try to get better from this experience and I feel good about my game. Everything is coming along nicely. Got to work a little bit more on the overall game of things and I think if that happens, then I should be in pretty good form coming into the Majors.

Day gets a bit of an asterisk for his poor finishes leading up to the week. He was forced to withdraw from both the BMW Championship and the Tour Championships last fall with a back injury, and didn't play again until the Tournament of Champions in January. 

Just when Day appeared to be back on track — t-5 at Pebble Beach — he soon after announced his mother was undergoing treatment for cancer. 

With his world understandably rocked — he lost his father to cancer at 12 years old — Day had failed to crack the top 20 in his five starts following Pebble Beach.

Fortunately, by all accounts, his mother is recovering, and Day looks noticeably lighter on the course. With golf back on the list of top priorities, Day can re-emerge as one of the game's most dominant stars.

With three majors, a World Golf Championship, The Memorial Tournament and the FedEx Cup playoffs all on the horizon, Day believes this week could prove to be a turning point in his season.

"Definitely. You know what, just shows that things are coming together," he said. "Little unfortunate with that, obviously, thinking how things unfolded but, you know what, I get a week off, I get some rest and get into the Memorial."

With Day seemingly back in the fold, the PGA Tour just needs Rory McIlroy to heel from his rib injury, and for Jordan Spieth to regain the form he displayed while winning two majors in 2015.