Pro golfer Jarrod Lyle dies at 36 after ending cancer treatment
Australian professional golfer Jarrod Lyle has died at 36 years old, days after deciding to end active treatment of acute myeloid leukemia.
Lyle is survived by his wife Briony and daughters Lusi, 6 and Jemma, 2. Briony provided a statement Wednesday breaking the news.
“It breaks my heart to tell everyone that Jarrod is no longer with us. He passed away peacefully at 8:20 p.m. last night, having spent his final week in Torquay among his family and close friends. Lusi, Jemma and I are filled with grief and now must confront our lives without the greatest husband and father we could ever have wished for.”
Jarrod Lyle ended cancer treatment on July 31
Briony announced on Facebook on July 31 that Lyle would undergo palliative care to ease the suffering of the disease he had battled for 20 years.
“My heart breaks as I type this message,” Briony wrote. “Earlier today Jarrod made the decision to stop active treatment and begin palliative care. He has given everything that he’s got to give, and his poor body cannot take anymore. We’ll be taking him closer to home in the next couple of days so he can finally leave the hospital.”
Lyle successfully fought back cancer twice
Lyle’s final bout with cancer was his third. He defeated the disease after being diagnosed at age 17 and went on to earn his PGA Tour card in 2007. The cancer returned in 2012. Lyle fought it back once again and went on to compete in 42 more professional golf tournaments, 20 of them on the PGA Tour.
Lyle competed in more than 250 world-ranked events over his career, reaching a career-high of 142nd in the World Golf Ranking. He recorded five top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour between 2009 and 2012.
The cancer returned for a third time last year, and he underwent a haploidentical transplant, a blood transfusion process, in December. Lyle had trouble with his speech and eyesight leading up to the decision to end cancer treatment, according to the PGA Tour.
“He asked that I provide a simple message,” Briony wrote in her Wednesday statement. ‘Thanks for your support, it meant the world. My time was short, but if I’ve helped people think and act on behalf of those families who suffer through cancer, hopefully it wasn’t wasted.'”
Golf community rallies around Lyle family
The golf community rallied around the Lyle family after Briony made the announcement about his decision to stop treatment.
Tiger Woods reportedly donated $10,000 to a fund for Lyle’s daughters while Bryson DeChambeau pledged his $25,000 in charity winnings from a long-drive contest to the Lyles.
“Jarrod Lyle, the story, it’s just so sad,” DeChambeau said about his decision prior to Lyle’s death. “His kids are suffering, obviously, from it and the whole family is. And I just thought it would be the right thing to give it to [daughters] Lusi and Jemma. They deserve that and they need that more than anything right now.”
Fellow Australian and PGA Tour Pro Adam Scott spoke highly of Lyle when news broke that he was ending his treatment.
“I can’t imagine being in that position,” Scott told the PGA Tour. “It’s unthinkable. He is one of the best blokes there is. Given all the difficulties he’s had since his late teens, he has lived the best life he could with the tough cards he has been dealt.”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan responded to the news of Lyle’s death on Wednesday
“We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Jarrod Lyle,” Monohan said in a statement. “Jarrod was a true inspiration in the way he faced cancer with a persistently positive attitude, and he carried himself with incredible grace, dignity and courage through the recurrences of this relentless disease.”
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