JDC champ Byrd leans on faith during family crisis
SILVIS, Ill. — Jonathan Byrd wears his Christian faith almost as obviously as the Mizuno hat he sports low on his brow.
Consider: the defending John Deere Classic champion felt compelled to apologize Monday for uttering the phrase “sucky” in a pre-tournament news conference at TPC Deere Run.
Apology accepted.
“Sucky,” after all, is an incredibly mild description of the crisis confronting the 30-year-old South Carolinian and his close-knit extended family.
Byrd’s father, Jim, was diagnosed last fall with a glioblastoma multiforme.
In layman’s terms, that’s a plum-sized, Stage 4, malignant tumor.
In a word, cancer.
Lots of less than Christian adjectives could color such news.
Byrd, though, has a different outlook.
“It was very scary for my family,” he conceded, “but also very good in the sense that when everything is a mess, all that is left is complete dependence on God.”
At the moment, the son said, Jim Byrd, 64, is holding his own in a battle against a disease his surgeon called “one of the nasty ones” in an article published in a Columbia, S.C., newspaper last month.
“It’s not curable, but it is treatable,” Dr. Aaron McDonald told The State. “Years ago, it was a death sentence. It is a good time for treating this kind of tumor.”
After surgery to remove the tumor last fall, Byrd said his father endured six weeks of chemotherapy coupled with radiation therapy. He is undergoing “a different kind of treatment,” said the son.
Dr. G. Tripp Jones, an oncologist, told The State, “It looks like he is in remission. We don’t say cured. We don’t use that word. You’ve got to be vigilant; the other shoe could drop.”
Jonathan Byrd said, “My dad is doing fantastic,” and proudly reported his father walked the 9-mile length and width of the TPC at Sugarloaf near Atlanta last week, where his son contended for a title at the AT&T Classic.
Therein lies another interesting twist to this Christian family’s saga: While other sons might have found their work affected by such a crisis, young Byrd finds himself playing some of the steadiest golf of a successful but not always consistent career.
Byrd eagled the 18th hole Sunday near Atlanta to claim fourth place alone, his second top 10 finish and his fifth top 15 in 14 starts this year.
“I am much more consistent,” he agreed. “I have gotten in contention much more this year, which is my focus for the season.
“I think it has been at least four times I have had a chance to win on Sunday. I’m pleased with that. I haven’t been that pleased with how I have played on weekends and finished tournaments. But I think the more experience I get, the better I’ll do.”
Byrd, of course, already is an established winner. In overcoming a four-shot deficit with five holes to play in last year’s final JDC round, he won for the third time in six years on Tour.
Still, under the circumstances, Byrd’s solid seventh season seems like something beyond.
“It’s been pretty good,’’ he said. “I don’t feel like (his father’s illness) has been terribly distracting. I haven’t tried to put any more pressure on myself because my dad got sick or anything.”
There is an element of business as usual. Jim Byrd has been in his son’s galleries at three southern tournaments, including the Masters and the next week’s Verizon Heritage Classic in the Byrds’ home state of South Carolina.
“My parents still enjoy watching me play, and I still enjoy trying to play well,” Byrd said.
Of course, business as usual it is not.
“You think you’re parents are going to live forever, and then something like this happens and you realize that’s not true,” Byrd said. “It’s just a sucky part of life. Pardon my ... That’s the best way of saying it.
“But, yeah, it has changed my perspective. Golf still becomes too important sometimes. ... (Then) you start thinking about that. It just kind of brings things into perspective. Golf becomes less and less important. It becomes just what I do. Not who I am.”
Craig DeVrieze can be contacted at (563) 333-2610 or cdevrieze@qctimes.com.