Australian pro golfer Jarrod Lyle died on Wednesday night at his home in Torquay following a two-decade battle with acute myeloid leukemia, his wife, Briony, announced. He was 36.
“It breaks my heart to tell everyone that Jarrod is no longer with us,” Briony said in a statement according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The news comes just a week after the family announced that Lyle had chosen to cease treatment and enter palliative care at his home.
In a heart-wrenching Instagram post on August 2, Briony said her husband had “reached his limit” in his third bout with cancer. She added that Lyle’s focus was on spending “as much time” as he could with the couple’s children.
Lyle was initially diagnosed with leukemia when he was 17, but the cancer resurfaced twice more in 2012 and 2017, according to Fox News.
While Lyle continued to play in the PGA tour and in Australia in between each diagnosis, last year’s reoccurrence caused his health to worsen, CNN reported before his death.
The golfer turned professional back in 2004, and — according to CNN — won the U.S.’ second-tier tour twice. His career high world ranking was 142nd.
After the news of his death was announced, golfers and fans from around the world paid tribute to Lyle over social media.
Tripp Isenhour, a Golf Channel commentator, called Lyle “a champion of a human,” in a tweet.
“It is with a heavy heart and a mountain of tears that I say a final goodbye to my friend Jarrod Lyle,” Isenhour wrote. “For 20 years he fought this disease like no one could. Thank you for touching us all in so many wonderful ways! RIP to a champion of a human.”
