2017 Masters: Jason Day practicing at Augusta; looks set to play Masters

Jason Day looks certain to play the 2017 Masters and sounds upbeat after his mother’s recent successful surgery.

After withdrawing from the WGC Dell Match Play and informing the press of his mother’s battle with cancer, it wasn’t clear if Jason Day would tee it up at Augusta National this week.

But after his mother’s recent successful surgery, Day has made the trip to Augusta and looks set to play in his sixth Masters Tournament, albeit without a lot of preparation.

The Masters website reported that Day spent Friday and Saturday practising at Augusta with caddie Col Swatton by his side and sounded upbeat:

“Obviously, we still have to wait to see (about) chemo,” Day said, “but we feel much better about things.”

Day, 29, played Augusta National Friday in advance of the 81st Masters, then played the second nine Saturday before settling in to do some late-afternoon short-game work with his caddie and swing coach, Colin Swatton. Day’s wife, Ellie, and two children are back home helping to care for Dening, and Day said other family friends are going to lend assistance this week.

Even without playing much golf, Day will start as one of the tournament favourites with a great track record around Augusta National.

In Day’s five previous starts at The Masters the 29-year-old has finished in the top-10 on three occasions.

Day’s worst finish was a tie for 28th place in 2015 while his second place finish at the 2011 Masters is hard for any Australian golf fan to forget.

Even under physical duress Day has managed to play well at The Masters. Last year Day spent most of the week in poor health and didn’t play any where near his best but still finished in a tie for 10th place, six shots behind the green jacket winner Danny Willett.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *