Words of caution mean a lot more when they come from someone who lived the horror themselves. But they also have the strength to spread appropriate awareness, and that was the whole idea behind Padraig Harrington’s recent appearance at RTÉ’s The Late Late Show. The veteran golfer spoke about the cancer his dad had, while revealing the importance of catching the signs early.

“With oesophageal cancer, my dad had heartburn the whole of his life. Forever sending us to go down and get a packet of antacids, and just like any Irishman, just dealing with it, not really dealing with it,” Harington said on The Late Late Show. “We would have seen that, and he had the symptoms, but we weren’t aware of it.”

Padraig Harrington’s father, Paddy, was a former policeman and golfer with a five-handicap. He died in July 2005 at age 72 from inoperable oesophageal cancer. Since the diagnosis came only a few months before his death, saving him became impossible.

The illness even forced the 6x PGA Tour winner to withdraw from the 2005 Open Championship. This was shortly after his PGA Tour wins at the 2005 Honda Classic and the 2005 Barclays Classic. Since then, the Irish golfer has always described the shock of losing his fit father. He said a delayed diagnosis caused the problem, which could have been prevented.

After his father’s demise, Padraig Harrington became a patron of the Oesophageal Cancer Fund (OCF) in 2006. Since then, he has supported Lollipop Day, a late February fundraiser. He also uses the event to spread awareness among viewers and fans. This has also led to stories where those who follow the advice and get early checkups are able to catch the problem early and treat it.

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To make things easier, the 3x major champion even listed a few symptoms that people commonly ignore.

“If you have acid heartburn, if you have a persistent cough, persistent hiccups, struggling swallowing, these are all symptoms,” he added. “If pain in your upper chest or your throat, these are things you need to go and have checked out and if you get it checked out, it’s very treatable. Don’t leave it too long.”

Padraig Harrington revealed that the treatment has advanced significantly since 2005. Like many other forms of cancer, oesophageal cancer is also manageable if acted upon early. In fact, some cancers are even completely removable with surgery. Things were not that good in 2005 when his father died.

However, many people, just like his father, delay their check-ups. They leave it for the next day, next month, or next year. And when they finally can’t delay it anymore and discover that it’s cancer, it’s already too late. Padraig Harrington has seen that very thing happen with his own eyes in his father’s case. Which is why he is now all in for raising oesophageal cancer awareness.

It’s not Padraig Harrington alone; many other golfers have lost their or their family members’ lives to cancer.

Golfers and their family members who died of cancer

There are many instances where cancer has taken the precious lives of golfers or their family members. One of the most recent examples is that of Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki. The Japanese pro had 113 international victories in his name. He fought a prolonged battle against colon cancer, but died on December 23, 2025, at 78.

Apart from his, the Australian PGA Tour pro Jarrod Lyle also died of cancer. In fact, he had it diagnosed and removed once. However, leukemia recurrence took his life on August 8, 2018, when he was just 36-years-old. 4x PGA Tour winner Ed Fiori, who had defeated young Tiger Woods in 1996, was also fighting cancer and died at 72 on July 6, 2025.

Many of them lost their family members to cancer, too. Jason Day, for example, lost his father, Alvin Day, to stomach cancer. He died when Day was just 12 years old. However, the 13x PGA Tour pro later revealed that he faced a traumatic childhood because of his father. So, his life actually turned around for the better after his father’s death.

Sadly, Jason Day’s mother also caught non-small cell lung cancer. Just like in the case of Padraig Harrington’s father, her mother’s diagnosis came in late. Despite that, she fought cancer for five long years, but finally died in March 2022. Since then, Jason Day became a lung cancer advocate.

These stories show how cancer leaves a lasting mark on golfers and their families. They sometimes also turn personal loss into a powerful reason to speak out. For Padraig Harrington, that shared reality gives added weight to his warning, as he continues to urge people to take early symptoms of oesophageal cancer seriously.