Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle has died after a long battle with cancer.
Lyle, 36, spent his final days surrounded by loved ones when he decided to go into palliative care after ending treatment for a third bout of myeloid leukaemia.
The popular former US PGA Tour player is survived by his wife Briony and daughters Lusi, 6, and Jemma, 2.
"It breaks my heart to tell everyone that Jarrod is no longer with us," Ms Lyle said in a statement.
"He passed away peacefully at 8.20pm last night having spent his final week in Torquay among his family and close friends."
A winner of two professional tournaments, Lyle made a remarkable return to the US PGA Tour in 2013 having beaten cancer a second time before his latest diagnosis.
"(Children) Lusi, Jemma and I are filled with grief and now must confront our lives without the greatest husband and father we could ever have wished for," said Ms Lyle.
"At the same time, 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.
"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.
"He asked that I provide a simple message: `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.'
The statement said a intimate and private family service would be held in the coming days with a public memorial service at The Sands in Torquay at a date to be announced later.
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Lyle was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in 1999 when he was 17 and a promising amateur golfer.
He spent much of the next nine months in Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital fighting the disease and it was another year after that before he could walk around a golf course.
When finally he was fit enough to play competitively he reduced his handicap to scratch by the time he turned 19 and a couple of years later won a Victorian Institute of Sport golf scholarship.
For the next few years it was as though he was making up for lost time. He turned professional in 2004, qualified for the Asian Tour within another year, and less than 12 months after that was playing in the US on the second-tier Web.com Tour.
In his first season he finished 18th in the money list, earning himself a ticket to play on the US PGA Tour for 2007.
The vagaries of golf came into play and Lyle finished his first season on the world's most lucrative golf circuit in 164th place on the money list and had to drop back a level to what had been renamed as the Nationwide Tour.
With experience by then to match his natural ability, Lyle won two Nationwide events in 2008, finishing fourth on the money list and again being elevated to the US PGA Tour.
In 2011 he lost his tour card again but earned it back at qualifying school then achieved his best PGA Tour result of tied fourth in Los Angeles early in 2012.
By now Lyle had married Briony and the pair returned to Australia in March 2012 for the birth of their first child, Lusi.
It was while he was at home that a relapse of the leukaemia was diagnosed, causing golf to go on hold for more debilitating treatment until he was again declared to be in remission, making his comeback to the game in the 2013 Australian Masters at Royal Melbourne.
Remarkably, Lyle again made his way back to the PGA Tour, playing 20 more tournaments in 2015 and 2016, playing with moderate success and becoming one of the world's most universally-admired golfers.
Then, in 2017, while being treated for a cough, it was discovered that the leukaemia had returned.
File: Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle
AAP
