Only 23 years old, Filipino Australian golfer Jason Day finished 2nd in the 2011 US Open Season. He ended the tournament with 8 shots behind Rory McIlroy who scored 16 under. Jason’s score of 8-under 276 would have been enough to win 26 of the past 30 US Opens. He is ranked number 9 in the world and is currently Australia’s top ranked golfer.
In his Masters debut last April, he finished tied for second place with fellow Australian Adam Sott. He also placed fifth in the HP Byron Nelson Championship last May.
Jason Day was born to an Australian father and a Filipina mother, who were both employed as meat workers in Queensland.
In an interview, Jason said that he got his competitive nature from his mother. “She’s very competitive,” Day said of his mother, Dening. “She would always tell me to beat (my opponents). Not just beat them, but to crush them into the ground.” Dening did more than instil a killer instinct in her son; she also recognized his potential and sent him to a golf academy.
Day was unable to provide a serious threat to McIlroy in the US Open, but he is determined to bounce back this November in the Australian PGA Championship. It will be his first time to compete in the event. “I’m really excited about coming back to Queensland and playing the PGA at Coolum,” said Day.
“Hopefully Rory and I have many more years taking each other on down the stretch in big tournaments,” he added.
McIlroy, who first met Day when they played a practice round together in Melbourne as teenagers, believes Day’s time will no doubt come soon enough: “Jason has played fantastically the last three majors,” the world No.4 said. –
(Source: Agence France-Presse)