Tuesday 4 April 2017 17:07, UK
Jason Day will enter the Masters feeling in a "much better place" as his mother has been given a more positive prognosis in her battle with lung cancer.
Dening Day underwent surgery during the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, where Jason completed only six holes of his opening match against Pat Perez before withdrawing and heading to be with his mother in Ohio after giving an emotional press conference.
Day struggled to hold back tears as he explained how he "could not comprehend" being on a golf course while his mother was fighting for her life, but it appears her operation was successful.
The Australian gave an open and honest account of his family trauma with The Golf Channel on Monday at the Masters, but he is now in a much better frame of mind ahead of the opening major of the year.
When asked about his mother's condition, he said: "She's good, she had the left quarter of her lung taken out on the left side, and I was with her pretty much every day back home. She's in a fair amount of pain but hopefully things are looking up.
"She's always wants me to play, that's all she wants," added the world No 3, who went on to explain how tough he has found it to focus on golf since his mother was diagnosed with cancer in January.
Day has posted only one top-10 finish in five starts on the PGA Tour in 2017, a tie for fifth at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and he admitted: "I've felt lost. There's been a lot of things go on this year that have been somewhat distracting to my golf.
"Golf was the last thing that I was ever thinking about when this first came about, but I'm in a much better place now. Being able to be here this year is a special week, not only for me being here but have my mom in safe hands."
Day managed to get in a nine-hole practice round on Monday before Augusta National evacuated players and patrons from the course due to a severe thunderstorm.
