Day’s decision on Masters to be based on mum’s results
Jason Day, the world No 3, is still planning to play in the Masters next week but will have no hesitation in pulling out of the season’s first major if he needs to be with his mother as she fights cancer.
Day was in tears as he explained his decision to withdraw from last week’s WGCDELL Technologies Match Play in Texas so that he could be with his mum, Dening, as she prepared to undergo surgery for lung cancer. That surgery took place in Columbus, Ohio, and the family is now awaiting results of tests to see if cancer is present in her lymph nodes.
“Obviously, I’m still nervous because we’re still waiting to see... if it has spread or not,” said Day, speaking during a video conference set up by organisers of the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic in late April. “From there, we have to kind of come up with a gameplan whether to go chemo – a form of chemo radiation – or something else.”
The Australian, whose father, Alvin, died of cancer when he was 12, added: “It’s still kind of a bit of an emotional time for me. Obviously, I’ve been hanging out with my mom a bit and seeing her and she’s recovering well.
“She’s a tough lady, but it’s hard because I look at her and she’s on the pain killers and all that stuff, what she needs to do to recover... but I can’t help but think of my dad when I see her in that situation.
“My mom told me not to worry about it. It’s hard to do that. It’s easy to say... but it’s really, reallydifficult. Socurrentlyi’m scheduled to play Augusta... but if things don’t come back the way we want them, I don’t know what’s going to happen.
0 Jason Day, pictured at Augusta last April, says his involvement next week depends on his mother’s prognosis following surgery for cancer.
“It’s very, very difficult to even think about playing golf when a loved one is going through such a traumatic experience. Once I get past this initial stage, hopefully I’ll find some balance and I’ll be able to kind of move on and really focus on getting my game back.
“Unfortunately, I’m human. I like to feel like I’m always on it, I’m always... ready to go and trying to compete and I want to get back to that stage, but sometimes it’s very, very difficult.”
Day has an excellent Masters record, having finished second and third in the last six years. He was also tenth behind Danny Willett 12 months ago.
Meanwhile, golf’s man of the moment, Dustin Johnson, has pulled out of this week’s PGA Tour event in Texas so 0 Dustin Johnson: Decided to miss Shell Houston Open. that he is refreshed for the Masters. Johnson, who has won his last three events, including two since he became world No 1, had been scheduled to tee up in the Shell Houston Open.
“After a great deal of thought and consultation with my team, I have decided to withdraw from this week’s Shell Houston Open,” he said in a statement. “Having played seven rounds of competitive golf in the last five days, I feel it is best to give my mind and body a much-needed rest heading into Masters week.’’
As excitement builds in the countdown to the season’s opening major, Jordan Spieth’s preparation has included a practice round with star NFL quarterback Tom Brady. The New England Patriots playmaker posted a picture of himself playing Augusta National with Spieth, the 2015 champion, on social media site Instagram.
A fourball also included Augusta National member Jimmy Dunne and Kevin Plank, chief executive of Under Armour. “Trying to beat @jordanspieth in golf is like trying to arm wrestle @therock,” wrote Brady, who mastermined the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history against Atlanta Falcons in February.
The photo showed the group on Hogan’s Bridge at the 12th hole, where Spieth’s hopes of winning a second straight Green Jacket disappeared last year as he ran up a quadruplebogey 7.
On the weather front, rain looks set to be a feature of next week’s event. Wednesday, the final practice day and also when the par-3 contest takes place, is the only day when either showers or scattered thunderstorms are not being predicted. That is likely to mean the 7,435-yard layoutplayinglongerinthesoft conditions.