A brand new Day

By Jaime K. Pimentel
NSW-Australia
August 121, 2015



In her report for the New York Times, Karen Crouse wrote: “After a 314-yard drive on the par-5 16th hole at Whistling Straits, Jason Day had a decision to make.

“Ahead by three strokes in his bid to win his first major championship, Day could lay up with his next shot, which was the smart but conservative move, or go for the green as if he had nothing to lose.

“Day did not deliberate for long. In the previous two majors, he had held at least a share of the 54-hole lead and had failed to win. Six times since 2013, he had posted top-10 finishes at golf’s four biggest annual events.

“He was going to win the 97th PGA Championship or go down swinging from his heels.

“Using his 4-iron, Day hit a towering draw that landed on the fringe of the green.

Jason’s mother Dening Day, who was at work in Queensland, missed watching her son’s final holes of the championship, but followed updates on the PGA website.

"It takes a long time before it gets updated," Mrs Day told ABC Radio. "It gets a little bit anxious. I was so excited. I was so proud of him. It has been a long time coming for him. It's a culmination of all his hard work."

Indeed, it was a long, long way from Jason’s childhood in Beaudesert, Queensland, when his bread-winner father Alvin died. It was dad who bought a used golf club for young Jason to play.

“We were poor,” Day said.

And it was Colin Swatton who took over mentorship of Jason, and has been caddie to the new PGA champion ever since.

When Day sank his last putt on the 18^th at Whistling Straits and was overcome with tears, it was Swatton who first embraced him.

Then little son Dash ran to his dad on the green. Day grabbed and the lifted the boy like a trophy as his wife Ellie joined them.

It was an unforgettable moment, shared by Australians and Filipinos all over the world.

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