Australia’s Jason Day will draw of memories of his late father in seeking to secure victory on Father’s Day in this year’s U.S. Open.

Day, who is fully recovered from a thumb injury he re-aggravated during the Masters, spoke of this father ahead of teeing up Thursday at Pinehurst No. 2.

“It was my dad who got me into golf when I was three,” he recalled.

Jason Day will look to draw of memories of his late father in capturing the U.S. Open on Father’s Day this week. (Photo – Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)

“He found a golf club at the rubbish tip and he always knew that I wanted to bang a ball or do something with a ball.

“He always wanted me to one day be a professional golfer and play on the Tour and unfortunately my dad died when I was 12.

“You have a lot of — you hear a lot of stories like that. He just got cancer and a few months later he passed away.

“So for me to be a dad, to have Dash with me this week to finish on Father’s Day, I know watching Rosie last year, his dad passed away and just for him to talk about what the impact he had, his father had in his life, to be able to recognize that and say it in his speeches, you know, it’s pretty special.

“Hopefully one day Dash will be able to see me playing and winning tournaments, not only the U.S. Open, but other tournaments, as well.

“And we can look back on it together as father and son and really enjoy it and have those memories that go a long way. Because I never really got to — I never got to experience that with my father as I turned professional. So hopefully I can experience it with him.”

And if successful, Day would become only the third Australian to win the U.S. Open after David Graham (1981) and Geoff Ogilvy (2006).