Rickie Fowler revealed that he wore yellow in tribute to Jarrod Lyle in the opening round of the US PGA Championship. Australian golfer Lyle passed away on Wednesday after a long battle with cancer, aged 36.
Fowler, the early leader at five under, was among those wearing yellow ribbons on the course following the news of Lyle's death, but also swapped his planned blue shirt for a yellow outfit on the eve of the tournament.
"The last few weeks, especially this week and last week, we've all been thinking about Jarrod a lot," Fowler said at the end of his round.
"I was scripted to wear dark blue today and I immediately changed last night. Last week, I had the pin somewhere on the side. Now, it's front and centre. It's definitely tough, especially tough on some of the guys who knew Jarrod better than most out here."
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"But, you also think that Jarrod wouldn't want us out here feeling sorry for him, feeling bad or anything. He'd probably come out here, kick us in the butt, tell us to man up and go have some fun."
"It's a little bit bittersweet trying to go out there and keep living life like he did. It's unfortunate that he's not here with us."
Fowler turned in 34 but was far more impressive on the way back, with four further birdies securing a two-shot advantage over the chasing pack.
"I'm definitely happy about the start. I felt like I kept it very stress-free, hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens. I just played within myself," he added.
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