AKRON, Ohio -- How an Australian came to enjoy a home-course advantage in Akron is a love story more than a golf story.
Aussie-born Jason Day is a 23 years old with a thick husk of chin whiskers and a smile the size of the Sydney Opera House.
View full sizeJason Day, 23, is two shots out of the lead after the first round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron. He fired 7-under 63 in Thursday's first round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational -- good for second place, a stroke behind leader Adam Scott.
It was the magic of an old putter Day chose to put back in his bag. It was nailing his driver well all day. And it was playing within two hours of home at Firestone County Club, with about 10 friends and family members tagging along.
"I've got good vibes up here in the Akron area, Cleveland area," he said.
Day, who earned $1.1 million for winning the 2010 Byron Nelson Championship -- his only PGA Tour victory -- was paired with Phil Mickelson, who shot 3-under 67.
Day turned pro in 2006. A year later, he won his first pro championship, a Nationwide Tour stop at StoneWater Golf Club in Highland Heights.
In between, he won someone's heart.
The former Ellie Harvey grew up in Lucas, Ohio, a town of about 600 people near Mansfield. She graduated eighth of about 35 students in the Lucas High School class of 2004.
"It's farms and it's not really 'golfy,' " she said, "so I didn't grow up with it. I didn't know anything about golf."
That was all about to change.
After her senior year, she moved to Twinsburg for beauty school and worked as a server at the local Mavis Winkle's Irish Pub.
Day was a super shy 17-year-old amateur when he first walked into the restaurant with Colin Swanton, his golf coach for 10 years and his caddie for six. Swanton was helping a friend start up a golf academy in Twinsburg. Mavis Winkle's became a regular stop.
Ellie was 19. Day was afraid to talk to her because she was older.
But by 2006, he started texting her. She was so busy working that she pretty much blew him off. He kept up the communication.
In town for the StoneWater tournament, they ran into each other at a graduation party for mutual friends at the restaurant.
"He made up some excuse why he owed me dinner, and I said, 'OK.' Ended up watching him play that weekend at the tournament and he won," she said. "It was the first time I ever watched golf. I didn't really realize how big a deal it was. I was like, OK, that's great, that's awesome, exciting."
The following weekend, she drove to Columbus for a tournament and their first date -- dinner at Applebee's and a horror movie, with Swanton as a third wheel.
Like Day's seven-birdie round Thursday, their lives became a whirlwind.
"We fell for each other really fast," she said.
They were married in October 2009 in a barn near Lucas, where her father works for an insurance company and her mother is known for her custom slipcovers.
Most PGA Tour players live where winters favor their sport and the tax code favors their wallets.
The Days gave up both for Westerville, near Columbus, so Ellie could be close to family.
"You know, we're probably going to start up a family soon," he said, "so it's obviously good to be here with them."
And them with him.