Tiger Woods and Jason Day are both sponsored by Nike, but there was a symbol besides the swoosh that adorned their hats at Firestone on Thursday.
The Major winners, along with a host of others in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational field, wore yellow ribbons in support of fellow tour player Jarrod Lyle.
The PGA Tour is a very small family. We love together, we laugh together, and we hurt together. Our thoughts and prayers are all with Jarrod Lyle. pic.twitter.com/LXsdIDhDaJ
— Michael Collins (@ESPNCaddie) August 2, 2018
The Australian pro is battling leukemia for the third time, but it appears that fight is coming to a close. Earlier this week, Lyle’s family announced that his body is shutting down, and that Lyle is leaving the hospital to spend his remaining days with his family in peace.
“Jarrod knows he is loved, and the thousands of prayers and well wishes that have been sent his way have kept him going through some incredibly tough times. But he has reached his limit, and the docs have finally agreed that they can no longer strive for a positive outcome,” wrote his wife Briony in a statement. “My focus as of today is on our girls and doing whatever I can to get them through the challenges ahead. Jarrod will be closer to them very soon, and will spend as much time as he can with them.”
Lyle first battled leukemia as a teenager. It returned in 2012 during a career campaign – he had made six of seven cuts on the US PGA Tour to that point, highlighted by a T-4 at the Northern Trust Open. The 36-year-old has made 121 starts on the US PGA Tour, his last appearance coming at the 2016 Wyndham Championship. He’s currently a member of the Web.com Tour, where he owns two career wins. In 2015, Lyle was awarded the US PGA Tour’s Courage Award for his perseverance and disposition in the face of adversity.
For those seeking to help, a GoFundMe page has been established to assist the education needs of Lyle’s daughters. Click here to contribute.
