PGA Championship: Adam Scott playing for more than a trophy on Sunday
Adam Scott finds himself just two off the lead going to the final round of the PGA Championship the same week his friend Jarrod Lyle passed away after a battle with leukemia.
When Adam Scott teed off Thursday at Bellerive Country Club for the first round of the PGA Championship, it was with a heavy heart.
The day before, Scott’s friend and fellow Aussie Jarrod Lyle passed away at the age of 36 after a long battle with leukemia. It was a devastating blow not just for Scott, but for every tour player that had gotten to know Lyle. Several players, including Scott, are sporting yellow ribbons this week in Lyle’s memory.
Scott seems to have drawn extra inspiration from Lyle’s passing. After a second consecutive round of 65 on Saturday, he is just two shots back of leader Brooks Koepka entering the final round as he chases his second career major championship. Doing so in memory of Lyle, he admits, would make the victory that much more meaningful. But anyone who lifts the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday will feel Lyle’s presence. Such was his ability to touch the lives of everyone he met.
“It will be more than twice the thrill for me,” Scott said after his round on Saturday. “But I think it won’t matter who wins tomorrow. I think if that person has met Jarrod Lyle, then they would have felt something with him passing this week.”
The loss of Lyle came suddenly. On Aug. 1, his family announced he was ending treatment and entering palliative care. Scott says that news, followed by his death a week later, has been difficult to come to terms with as he was away from home preparing for a major championship.
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“It’s been such a difficult thing, I think, for us to get our heads around because we’ve been removed from Jarrod and his family back in Australia,” he said. “Everything happening so suddenly last week, and then this week. I don’t really know if we’ve all had time to reflect on it and let it sink in.”
That Scott is in contention at the PGA Championship this week after a poor season is testament to how Lyle is inspiring him. Scott has just one top 10 on the PGA Tour in 2018. He has seen his world ranking plummet from seventh in 2017 to 76th at the start of the week. But the battle Lyle was waging only put his own struggles in perspective.
On Thursday, Scott had to choke back tears as he talked about the strength Lyle had shown. “To be so optimistic with the cards he was dealt was amazing,” he said. “His story resonated with so many people. We hear such average news all the time and he was a shining light of a bloke. It’s no wonder everyone gravitated towards him.”
Scott tees off in the final pairing with Koepka on Sunday at 1:55 local time (2:55 EST). For him and every other player that goes out there today, some piece of them will be thinking about Lyle.
“I think a part of everyone is playing for Jarrod out here this week,” Scott said.