Australian golfer Jason Day will go into the World Cup at Royal Melbourne with the devastating knowledge that eight of his relatives have died in Typhoon Haiyan, a report says.
Day’s mother, Dening, has told the Gold Coast Bulletin that the golfer’s grandmother, uncle and six cousins died in the Typhoon.
Thousands of people died in the Philippines when the country was hit by some of the strongest winds ever recorded and massive waves that destroyed coastal homes.
The UN estimates three million people have been displaced in the disaster.
Dening Day, who emigrated from the Philippines to Australia years ago, says she doesn’t want her son to worry ahead of the World Cup, which begins on Thursday.
“My daughter has been updating him but I don’t want to bother him because he has commitments,” she told the paper.
“There will be plenty of time to talk after (the World Cup). He’s representing his country so I don’t want him worrying about anything apart from golf.”
Day is pairing with Adam Scott, who won his second straight Australian Masters title on Sunday.
Within minutes of clinching that title, Scott declared he and Day would win the World Cup.
It’s a sign of the confidence wave the US Masters champion is riding, with Sunday’s victory following the Australian PGA title to make it back-to-back wins for the first time in Scott’s career.
“Come back next week and watch me and Jase – we’ll win the World Cup,” a jubilant Scott told the Royal Melbourne crowd at the presentation of his second gold jacket.
It could have been a different story.
The world No.2 led by four strokes entering Sunday’s final day and was five clear of American world No.8 Matt Kuchar.
But the near-faultless form he had displayed in moving to 14 under over the first three rounds went missing for much of his even-par final round of 71.
He found two bunkers on the par-3 fifth for a bogey and double-bogeyed the par-3 14th, after finding more trouble in another bunker, to fall two shots behind Kuchar with four holes to play.
That he prevailed was largely due to the American faltering.
Kuchar, who had netted seven birdies in 13 holes from the third onwards, bogeyed the 16th then double-bogeyed the last, meaning Scott didn’t need anything spectacular over the closing stretch to win by two shots.
“Sometimes you kind of win a little bit ugly,” Scott admitted.
“All the good stuff I’d done in the first three rounds counted for a lot.”
Had he succumbed to Kuchar, Scott conceded backing up for the World Cup, at the same venue starting on Thursday, might have been tough.
Now, he has the incentive of being halfway to claiming what has been dubbed the ‘Scotty Slam’ – the PGA, Masters, World Cup and Australian Open.
Even if he doesn’t win the World Cup – which will have both individual and team champions – Scott can still become just the second man after Robert Allenby in 2005 to complete Australian golf’s triple crown by winning the Australian Open at Royal Sydney a week later.
Sunday’s win has enhanced his excitement about those events.
“If I hadn’t have won today I think it would have been a big letdown,” Scott said.
“I’m riding a wave of confidence on the golf course at the moment, as anyone does when they’re winning tournaments, but also coming off the back of a great year and every time I walk out there I feel pumped.”
