Video & Roundup: Lyle's Emotional Return
/From Martin Blake's account of Jarrod Lyle's return to golf:
And tear up he did. "It was nice to get out there and see everybody that I love standing around the tee, and even people that I've never met before,'' he said later. "The crowd at the first tee was something that I wasn't expecting. To hear Lusi (his infant daughter) call out 'Daddy' ... I turned around and thought 'I'd better give her one last cuddle'. That was the end of me once that happened. I was an absolute mess. I hit that first tee shot with tears through my eyes. Normally I would've backed off but I thought 'I just want to get it over with'.''
Bruce Matthews in the Herald Sun includes many photos and video.
Brent Read in The Australian documents Lyle's return and reports the first tee moment proved emotional for his playing partners.
Even his playing partners were battling to contain their emotions.
"It hit me harder than I thought it might," said Geoff Ogilvy.
"I felt myself wanting to look away. I didn't really know how it was going to be. Two years ago the Presidents Cup first tee, the atmosphere was incredible.
"This was more moving. Everyone feels like they're part of the whole story."
The story only got better from there. Lyle walked off the first with par and then lashed another drive down the fairway at the 2nd. Among the gallery was jockey Glen Boss, who has become friends with Lyle during his fight with cancer. Lyle made a beeline for the hoop to shake hands.
And Matt Murnane in the Sydney Morning Herald:
On the second hole, a former world No.1 and three-time major winner was getting set to drive and the layout of this course means he have right of way.
There were 28 people in the gallery following the legendary Vijay Singh.
Why so many? Oh sorry, go on...
Too many to count had their eyes fixed on Lyle.
The Victorian two-putted for a par, picked up his ball and raised it to his supporters.
As he headed to the second, a fan with impeccable timing summed it up nicely: "Welcome back, Jarrod."
Welcome back indeed.
Golf Channel, which resumes coverage tonight at 9 pm ET, has posted the entire video of Lyle's first tee shot and it's definitely worth a couple of minutes of your time: