Australian pro golfer Jarrod Lyle died at his home in Torquay, Victoria, on Wednesday, August 8. He was 36.
“It breaks my heart to tell everyone that Jarrod is no longer with us,” Lyle’s wife, Briony, said in a statement to The Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday, August 9. “He passed away peacefully at 8:20 p.m. last night, having spent his final week in Torquay among his family and close friends.”
Briony added that she and the couple’s daughters, Lusi, 6, and Jemma, 2, are “filled with grief and now must confront our lives without the greatest husband and father we could ever have wished for.”
Lyle was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 1999 at age 17. The cancer returned in 2012 and again in 2017. His wife announced on his Instagram account on July 31 that he “made the decision to stop active treatment and begin palliative care” at their home.
The athlete began his professional career in 2004 and played in his first U.S. PGA Tour three years later. Throughout his career, he played in a total of 121 PGA Tour tournaments and won two Nationwide Tour events in 2008.
“We have been blessed and overwhelmed with the messages and actions of support from around the world and feel comforted that Jarrod was able to happily impact so many people throughout his life. Our humble thanks to you all,” Briony continued in her statement to the newspaper. “Jarrod was able to take in many of the unbelievably kind and generous acts and words in his final few days and was overwhelmed by the emotional outpouring.”
Briony then shared a message from her husband: “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.”
A private service for Lyle will be held in the coming days. A public memorial at The Sands in Torquay is also being planned.
