Jason Day dreaming of emotional Masters win with mum watching
Tuesday 4 April 2017 18:30, UK
Jason Day says winning this week’s Masters would be 100 times sweeter than his first major victory after watching his mother undergo surgery in her battle against lung cancer.
The World No 3 was forced to withdraw from the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play a fortnight ago to be with his mother, Dening, as she faced a five-hour left lung operation in Columbus, Ohio.
Thankfully the operation appears to have been a success and Day learned on Monday that she would not need chemotherapy.
"I was very emotional when I won my first major. You can just multiple that by 100," Day said, when asked about what winning at Augusta this week would mean.
"It would be great to have my mom here. She's never had the opportunity to come over here before. It gets me excited to think about it, about the possibility of winning it."
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After Day's father, Alvin, tragically died of stomach cancer when his son was only 12, his mother mortgaged the family home to finance his tuition at a golf academy.
"She is the reason why I'm playing professional golf now," Day said. "She sacrificed a lot. So did my sisters. I owe everything to her. She's the one who got me from where I was to where I am now.
"She doesn't have to go through chemo, which is really, really exciting stuff. I'm very pleased, very happy with how things have progressed.
"This week I feel lighter, feel refreshed in a way. All the hard stuff is off my mind. I can kind of get back to physically just focusing on golf.
"If you don't have that it's difficult to compete against the best players in the world."
Meanwhile, compatriot Adam Scott feels his game is coming together at just the right time for him to make a charge at Augusta this year after some struggles from tee to green earlier this year.
"I struck the ball the best I have this year, for sure. It was significantly better and more what I expect out of myself," said World No 9 Scott, who won the Masters in 2013.
"I really haven't hit the ball very well this year, so it was nice to put it right into places I want it. The past two days [the game] has really fallen into place and hopefully, it's not just one day.
"I've really worked hard, mentally and physically, on my game to try and get that peak performance going. I'm pleased with my preparation and hopefully I can be really firing when the opening round comes."
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