As part of his road back to the US PGA TOUR, Victorian Jarrod Lyle will play the upcoming Oates Victorian Open on the PGA Tour of Australasia from February 20-23 at Thirteenth Beach Golf Links.

The event will be Lyle’s second Tour event back after being away from the game for almost two years due to a battle with Leukemia.

Lyle was one of the stories of the year in 2013 as he returned to play his first comeback tournament at the Talisker Masters at Royal Melbourne in November.

Having exceeded his own expectations at Royal Melbourne by making the cut and finishing tied for 57th with rounds of (72, 71, 70 & 79), the Oates Vic Open will be just the second time he will endeavour to compete over four days since his return.

"I exceeded all my expectations at the Masters. I went there not really with the best golf game and thinking I might not play the weekend but to be able to play the four days was a huge step forward," he said.

Now looking at the Vic Open, my expectations are a little bit higher. I’m going to go there and give it everything I’ve got to try to win the thing but all I need to see is a bit of improvement from how I was at the Masters to how I am now. I want to know that all the work I’m doing in the gym is paying off."

"I just want to give it everything and see where everything’s at, and hopefully be there Sunday afternoon which would be a dream."

With a lack of tournaments under his belt for the past few years, Lyle is relishing the competitiveness of being back on the golf course.

"Seeing all your mates out there again is great but the competitive side of it is what I miss the most. Getting out there and trying to shoot as low a score I can every day. I’ve gone low a couple of times but then there’s those days when things don’t go right and you get frustrated but that’s what golf’s all about, getting yourself back from three or four over to even par which I’ve done too many times in pro-ams lately. It’s the competitive side of things that I’ve missed the most."

Born and raised in Shepparton, Lyle’s passion for the game grew from his time as a kid following his Dad around playing local courses and caddying.

Now a resident in Torquay with his wife Briony and daughter Lusi, Lyle will
enjoy sleeping in his own bed throughout the tournament and loves his new home.

"I love it in Torquay. Challenge (Cancer charity) has a house on the esplanade down here and through my treatment they said if you’re well enough to leave the hospital, go down and stay at the house for a weekend. As you do when you go to a new place you might have a bit of a look at the real estate in the newspaper to see what’s around and how much it’d cost to live here. We came back the following week and looked at a house that we really loved and we bought it the following week and that’s the reason we stayed in Torquay. It’s just one of those places, we didn’t know anybody there and we decided we wanted to start fresh and enjoyed the three days we had here so decided it was the time to do it."

Close to Lyle’s heart, Challenge will be the official Oates Vic Open charity partner for the 2014 event. Challenge is a charity that supports kids with cancer with Lyle a proud ambassador having been impacted by the organisation throughout his life.

"It’s just nice to know that those people behind the scenes care enough and are willing to get on board and help Challenge out," said Lyle who is looking forward to playing at Thirteenth Beach.

"I’ve probably played three times on the Creek Course and two on the Beach Course. I was at the Vic Open last year following my brother [Leighton] around and the Beach Course is pretty cool," he said.

"It’s a good links style course where you’ve got to position your ball well off the tee with the greens and surrounds being difficult. You’ve got to be prepared for a bit of a breeze and bring you’re a-game."