Late Australian golf pro Jarrod Lyle had one of his signature career moments at TPC Scottsdale’s 16th hole, and now the Waste Management Phoenix Open is using the 2019 event to honor his life and legacy.
Lyle died last August at the age of 36 after multiple bouts with leukemia, and the golf world grieved in unison for the loss of one of its own. Players at the PGA Championship donned yellow ribbons on their hats in Lyle’s honor that week at Bellerive.
The very next week at the Wyndham Championship, players were greeted at the 1st tee by Lyle’s embroidered golf bag, topped with his iconic yellow bucket hat. The 2016 Wyndham Championship was the last PGA Tour event Lyle played.
Two years ago today, Australian PGA TOUR golfer Jarrod Lyle teed off in the #WyndhamChamp. As fate would have it, the 2016 Wyndham Championship would be his final @PGATOUR event. Read more about how we're remembering this courageous player. https://t.co/okdejM0Klk pic.twitter.com/fw5lNt0w8H
— Wyndham Championship (@WyndhamChamp) August 16, 2018
This week at TPC Scottsdale, a memorial to Lyle graces the famous par-3 16th hole. Lyle aced the 16th in 2011, the first hole-in-one of his career, which he said at the time was “something I’m going to remember forever.” Lyle’s Titleist staff bag and bucket hat will be set up on the 16th tee, along with a plaque bearing the description ” “In memory of Jarrod Lyle, Hole-in-one, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011, 9:16 a.m., 150 yards, 8 iron. Rest in Peace.”
Lyle was first diagnosed with leukemia as a teenager but successfully fought the disease before he earned his PGA Tour card in 2007. Lyle’s leukemia returned in 2012, but he was again declared cancer-free a year later and returned to action on Tour.
After years serving as a television analyst and playing competitively in Australia, the cancer returned for a third time. One week before his death, his wife Briony announced that Jarrod would be entering palliative care following an extensive battle with the disease.
On Tuesday, fellow Australian PGA Tour pro Aaron Baddeley tweeted “We’ll miss you more than ever this week.”
We'll miss you more than ever this week in Phoenix, Jarrod.
Thanks to @WMPhoenixOpen for helping to honor his legacy. https://t.co/ag7LTRkedk pic.twitter.com/RbLvqj4ac8
— Aaron Baddeley (@AaronBadds) January 29, 2019
Lyle’s Phoenix Open ace was the first hole-in-one on the 16th in nine years at the time. For his efforts, he won $25,000 for charity. You can watch a video of the incredible moment below.
Going forward after this year’s tournament, Lyle’s memorial on 16 will be replaced with a permanent plaque honoring all of the holes-in-one made on the 16th hole during the Phoenix Open, including Tiger Woods’s ace in 1997.
