MIAMI (AFP) – Former world No. 1 golfer Jason Day said Thursday that his mother, Adenil “Dening” Day, had died after a long battle with cancer.
The Australian was a late withdrawal from the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida, this week. He said in a social media post that his mother died Wednesday night in Ohio with family by her side.
“Last night, my mum peacefully left us after battling cancer for five years,” Day wrote on Instagram. “We are heartbroken but incredibly grateful for the gift we had in her living with us for the last almost two years full time.”
“She fought so hard until the very last breath.”
Dening Day was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2017. Day revealed the diagnosis during the World Golf Championships Match Play Championship that year.
Treatment put her cancer into remission, but it returned a few years ago. She had been living with Day and his wife, Ellie, at their home in Columbus, Ohio, for the past couple of years.
Day has lost both of his parents to cancer. His father Alvyn died from stomach cancer when Day was 12.
His mother sold their house and borrowed money so he could attend a boarding school with a golf program.
“I am forever indebted to her for the sacrifices she made for me to be successful, and for the person she helped me to become,” Day wrote. “We will miss her so much.”
