The Big Fella turns 40 - Remembering Jarrod Lyle

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KNOXVILLE, TN - JUNE 22: Jarrod Lyle of Australia celebrates his win in the Knoxville Open at the Fox Den Country Club on June 22, 2008 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Lyle beat Chris Kirk in the playoff to win the tournament with a score of 19-under par. (Photo by Dave Martin/Getty Images)

Remembering Jarrod Lyle

*Writers Note: Former PGA TOUR player Jarrod Lyle would have been 40 on August 21 had we not lost the great man way too soon three years ago. Having fought and beaten acute myeloid leukemia three times in his life, the effects of those treatments finally caught up with his body and we had to all say farewell. It still hurts many of us to the core such was his footprint on the lives of others. To celebrate his 40th birthday, Challenge – the charity dedicated to supporting kids with cancer that Jarrod gave so much of himself to – and the PGA of Australia asked Lyle’s family, friends, colleagues, and the infinite people he influenced, to share their favorite stories. I was honored to be one of those people. Below are not just my words, but those of countless others, including his now nine-year-old daughter Lusi.

I’m not going to lie.

The first time I sat down to write something about Jarrod Lyle to commemorate the great man on what would have been his 40th birthday, a few raw expletives spilled onto the page.

It was written from a place of love. And those who were close with Jarrod and understand the traditional ways of Australian male bonding would likely understand why I would speak that way.

But one incredible woman I know – one of the strongest anyone could ever encounter – indirectly reminded me that I have a very important job to do. It’s a job not mine alone – but one for all of us who knew Jarrod. A job not directly asked of us, but one it is my absolute duty, and pleasure, to uphold.

It is our job to make sure his two beautiful daughters get a full and accurate picture of their father. And Jarrod might have been an Aussie larrikin – but it wasn’t all he was. He might have said a few choice words with me and others at times – but he never wasted his words. They ALL had meaning.

If he was around today, I’m sure I would have tried to come up with a clever way to wish him happy birthday. Some attempt at cutting personal humor I’d have spent hours cooking up. But upon delivery he would’ve volleyed it right back with something much better, completely off the cuff.

And now that I think about it – I could have used Jarrod’s wise words a few months back on my own 40th.

I can see it now. I was in quarantine in a London airport hotel prior to the Open Championship and put out a social media post bemoaning that fact a little. Jarrod would not have let that slide without (rightfully) absolutely smashing me.

You see it’s been a rough couple years for most of us amongst this awful pandemic. And we are in a legitimate fight against it both physically and mentally. But Jarrod would always have a way of putting things into perspective.

He’d have reminded me it could have been much worse. And complaining about it wasn’t going to solve anything. He’d have said put your gloves on and fight. Find the positive side of the situation under all circumstances and tell the negative to get stuffed.

And he’d have been right.

Sitting in a hotel room for five days doesn’t even minutely compare to what that man went through in just one minute of his life post his first diagnosis with cancer as a teenager. My head needed to be pulled out of my backside. I could’ve used Jarrod to help with that.

Truth is I miss being put in my place by my mate. I miss it because no one could say blunter things yet clearly do so from a place of love and friendship. He could make you laugh so hard you’d cry, and later when you got the true meaning behind his words, you’d be hard-pressed not crying again for a more emotional reason. I miss having him tell it like it is.

But there was so much more to him than candid words. Jarrod was the one who should have needed others. He was the one who battled and beat cancer three times. Yet he was the one always putting others needs ahead of his own.

I was covering Australian golfers on the PGA TOUR as a journalist when I found out about Jarrod’s second bout with leukemia from another source just days before his first daughter was due. I had to make a call to get confirmation. He picked up, at 7a.m., and apologized for not telling me sooner.

HE APOLOGIZED TO ME.

Ridiculous. I didn’t care who had the story first. I didn’t want the story to even exist. But here he was, worried about me.

He apologized to me again during another interview at the Australian Open years later after he was fronting up for his third fight. This time it was because Lusi ran over and wanted a hug and to play.

Seriously. I’ve never wrapped up a chat quicker. Who was I to take even a second away from his time with his three beautiful girls?

There are plenty of golf highlights I could point to when it comes to my time knowing Jarrod. His ace at the Waste Management Phoenix Open was certainly awesome. His success at Q-School in Palm Springs was another cool week for me as was his T4 at Riviera right before he was diagnosed the second time. But I remember, and miss, the other moments more.

I miss watching him change a nappy (diaper) next to a putting green.

I miss the chats we had before and after the tape recorder went on or off.

I miss the public roastings at PGA TOUR practice areas that hammered me but also helped me become accepted by the other Aussie players at the same time. Often after those moments came the dinner invites that showed he didn’t perceive any professional barrier between us.

I miss watching him knock people down a peg or two if they lost sight of their kindness.

I miss seeing the countless smiles he brought to kids with cancer as they faced unthinkable battles. Battles he proved to them all could sometimes be beaten.

But most of all I miss the trust he had in me. He would call a spade a shovel and a flog a flog without a second thought of what I could do with his words in my profession. I would try to soften things on occasion but on others he insisted I tell it like he did, even if I had reservations.

On what would have been his 40th birthday, I feel heavy-hearted knowing he should have been here for this and so many more celebrations. But if I force myself to look for the positives, as Jarrod insisted many times over, the truth is the number is irrelevant now.

Because in my mind – Jarrod is immortal. His legacy lives on.

He’s in Lusi and Jemma. He’s in Briony. He’s in all of us who knew him and now he’s in thousands of people who never had that pleasure but who have been inspired by his life. We must continue to give him life in the generations to come.

The world needs more of us to be like Jarrod. To find the fun and the positives amongst the invariable struggles of life. And to let those who choose negativity know there’s a better way.

Happy Birthday old mate. We miss you.

Lusi Lyle, Daughter – A daughter’s perspective

I remember when Daddy was in the house in Torquay to see me and Jemma one last time before he died.

Once I went around with all our nail polish and I asked Daddy if I could paint his nails. Fortunately, he said yes.

I asked which colors he wanted but he didn’t know because he couldn’t see what colors there were. So I did all the colors.

By the time I’d finished I realized how bad I did it, but I didn’t care because it was my first-time painting someone’s nails so I was pretty proud of myself and he couldn’t see them so that also made me feel better.

I will never forget that day.

I remember that Daddy used to call me boof-head, munchie, and donkey. I don’t know why he called me those nicknames but I do remember he always had weird nicknames for everyone.

I miss having a boy in the house, having someone close by who was a natural clown, and having someone that doesn’t yell at me as much as mum.

I think of him and miss him every day.

Briony Lyle, Jarrod’s wife – A huge life

“Despite the tidal wave of emotions that comes with trying to understand things from Jarrod’s perspective, one thing stands out to me every time – he lived a huge life… I know for sure that Jarrod’s spirit lives on in our girls, but it also continues to live in the world of golf. And it’s not going away any time soon.”