Golf: American golfer Bryson DeChambeau donates prize money to family of Jarrod Lyle

Bryson DeChambeau. Photo / AP

American golfer Bryson DeChambeau has donated his prize money from winning the PGA Championship's long drive contest to the family of former Australian pro Jarrod Lyle.

DeChambeau made the 25 thousand US dollar pledge shortly before it was announced Lyle had passed away after a long battle with leukaemia.

Tiger Woods and Spaniard Jon Rahm have also donated to Jarrod Lyle's Girls since he stopped receiving treatment last week.

Lyle spent his final days with his family and friends and passed away last night at the age of 36.

"It breaks my heart to tell everyone that Jarrod is no longer with us," the golfer's wife, Briony Lyle, said in a statement Thursday. "He passed away peacefully at 8.20 p.m. last night having spent his final week among his family and close friends."

Briony Lyle said her husband had asked her to pass on 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.'"

Lyle, who won twice on the Nationwide Tour in 2008, was first diagnosed with leukemia as a teenager and suffered recurrences of the disease in 2012 and 2017.

Bryson DeChambeau won the Long Drive Competition on Tuesday. He donated his $25,000 in charitable winnings to Jarrod Lyle's family.@b_dechambeau #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/p68PcawSSz

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) August 8, 2018