Fil-Aussie PGA champ Day being wooed to play in Manila

MANILA, Philippines – Could newly-minted PGA champion Jason Day be playing in front of Filipino fans in the near future.

The possibility of bringing Day, the Australian golfer whose mother is Filipina, was raised Wednesday, August 26, by top Asian Tour and local golf officials at the press conference launching the third staging of the Resorts World Manila Masters held at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Pasay City.

“It’s possible that we can convince Jason and his mother to come over for next year’s tournament,” Manila Southwoods chairman Bob Sobrepena said on the sidelines of the event.

Sobrepena noted that the Manila Southwoods Club’s par-72, 6896-yard Masters course designed by Jack “The Golden Bear” Nicklaus would be a fitting Philippine debut for the Australian ace, who has yet to visit his mother’s country.

The son of the late Irish-Australian Alvin, who died when he was 12 years old, and Dening, a native of Tacloban, Leyte, Day became the latest Australian pro to win a major golf crown, winning the PGA Golf Championships held last August 13 to 16 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin.

Finishing with a final round of 67, Day beat American whiz Jordan Spieth by 3 shots, carding a 72-hole total of 278, 20 under-par, besting the previous record of 19-under set by American Tiger Woods when he won the 2000 British Open at the venerable Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.  

Asian Tour chief executive officer Mike Kerr, who was at the briefing,  said that he had begun initial talks with Day’s management but doubted if the Fil-Aussie golfer would be available for this year’s edition of the November 19 to 22 tournament owing to his hectic schedule.

“We have made initial talks with his management team but it won’t be possible this year because of his stature now and because of hectic schedule,” Kerr said. “Although we are hoping that there will come a time when Day would be the one calling us to say that he would like to join our tour.”

Sobrepena was hopeful that the Australian pro would be available next year, citing his Filipina mom and his bond with Filipinos, especially after his maternal grandmother, uncle, and 6 other relatives died when Typhoon Yolanda struck Leyte hard in 2013.

Earlier news reports said that Day and his wife Ellie, using their Brighter Days Foundation, sent 3 container vans of relief goods to the Leyte typhoon victims.  

The Manila Southwoods executive bared that he might engage the golfer in his own charity housing project in Leyte for those whose homes were ruined by the destructive typhoon. – Rappler.com