MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia's sporting fraternity saluted Jason Day's victory in the PGA Championship as a triumph over adversity.
Day is the fifth Australian to win the PGA title and the 12th to win a major championship — the first since Adam Scott in the 2013 Masters.
After Day closed with a 5-under 67 at Whistling Straits for a three-shot victory and a majors-record 20-under total, Australian tennis and cricket players and racing drivers were among those quick to congratulate Day.
Growing up in the regional Queensland state towns of Beaudesert and Rockhampton, Day lost his father, Alvin, to cancer when he was 12 and battled alcohol and aggression at a young age.