Golf

Adam Scott surprises, inspires cancer patient in Memphis


MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Lisa Yarbro pumped her fist when Adam Scott sank his final putt of the third round at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational Saturday afternoon.

“C’mon Adam,” she said.

And almost as soon as the words left her mouth, Yarbro’s family began whisking her away for a meeting months in the making.

They came bounding down the stairs of the FedEx cabana behind the 18th green at TPC Southwind, and Yarbro grabbed her daughter, Anna, and wondered what was happening.

Scott had already walked by on his way to the clubhouse, and Yarbro worried the chance to interact with her favorite golfer had come and gone.

“We missed him,” she said. “We’re going to miss him.”

But then Yarbro saw her friend and fellow tournament volunteer Susie Tilton and gave her a hug. A few seconds later, executive tournament director Darrell Smith approached in a golf cart and told Yarbro to get in the front seat. It was then that she started to piece together what might be happening.

As the cart sifted through the masses on hand for the biggest golf event in Memphis history, Yarbro said she could feel her “little heart” beating in her chest.

She dabbed away tears once they arrived at the caddie area underneath the clubhouse at TPC Southwind and were escorted into a waiting room. Yarbro hugged her husband and her two daughters, and her son-in-law, and then she turned around.

“Oh my God!” she said.

Adam Scott was standing right in front of her.

A life-changing diagnosis

Saturday was the first time Yarbro, 56, had ever attended this tournament as a spectator. The previous 15 years, she served as a walking scorer keeping tabs on every shot of the golfers in her particular group.

“I absolutely loved it,” she said, because she loved the sport.

Her dad began taking her to a par-3 course in Minnesota when she was just 3 years old. When she moved to the Memphis area in 1990, she joined multiple women’s leagues and made friends she still has today. As of last year, she was a 19 handicap.

But on March 12 during a doctor’s visit for an unrelated issue, Yarbro was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a form of cancer that affects the bile ducts. A scan turned up tumors all over her liver.

A “gut punch,” she called the news.

“She was as healthy as she’s ever been,” her husband, Bruce Yarbro, said. “And then each successive diagnosis got worse and worse, and the outlook got worse and worse.”

The Masters were about a month later and Tilton, who had served as a walking scorer alongside Yarbro for years, decided to try and lift her friend’s spirits.

She knew someone connected to the John Deere Classic, who knew PGA Tour golfer Zach Johnson, who then got word to Johnson about Yarbro’s condition and her affinity for Scott.

“All I asked for was a card,” Tilton said Saturday.

Instead, however, Johnson sent along a video from the Masters Champions dinner on the Wednesday night before the tournament.

“A good friend of mine said you were kind of struggling and I just wanted to give you a word of encouragement,” Johnson said in the video. “We’re thinking about you. Stay strong. Lean on others and pray a lot. But one other person wants to say a few words.”

Scott then appeared wearing the green jacket he got from winning the Masters in 2013.

“Good day, Lisa. Adam here. I’m with Zach,” the Australian golfer said while waving to the camera. “He’s a good man and he told me what’s happening and we’re thinking of you. We’re praying for you. Stay strong and pull through this and we’ll see you in July.”

‘Keep fighting’

Lisa Yarbro just finished her 12th chemotherapy treatment last week. But this is a rare and aggressive form of cancer, a reality Lisa, Bruce and their family have been forced to embrace.

They’ve already been up to the Mayo Clinic looking for treatment options. Bruce went to a conference on cholangiocarcinoma at the Cleveland Clinic seeking advice and contacts. Earlier this week, Lisa and Bruce were both at Vanderbilt, where a new clinical trial related to Lisa’s disease could begin soon.

If it doesn’t, the Yarbro’s plan to travel to the University of Michigan, where the clinical trial is already in motion.

“Surgery is not an option. They told me I’ll just be on chemotherapy really for the rest of my life,” Lisa Yarbro said. “I’m at a crossroads looking for new treatments. I’m feeling good, but I don’t want chemo to ravage my body because then you get into a chemo versus Lisa’s body race. I don’t want to run this race.”

Which is why the plans for Saturday’s meeting with Scott were put in motion. Nobody knew if Yarbro would get another chance to thank her favorite golfer.

She loves Scott’s swing and the classy way he handles himself on and off the course.

“And he’s got that damned accent,” Bruce Yarbro said with a laugh. “Who wouldn’t fall for that?”

And so, when she saw Scott standing in front of her, Lisa Yarbro initially couldn’t say anything but “Oh my God!”

“Sorry for the sweaty hug,” Scott responded, wrapping his arms around Lisa. “It was great you made it out.”

“I have a big thank you for you. Thank you for reaching out to me in April,” Lisa said before introducing her family and Tilton.

They were all crying.

“It gives me strength to have those words spoken to me,” Lisa said, “especially at that time.”

Scott mentioned that he didn’t play well.

But a few minutes later, reflecting on this encounter with a couple reporters, it was obvious Lisa Yarbro had brightened the day of the world’s 19th-ranked golfer as much as he had made hers.

“It’s nice to get to meet someone on the other end of these messages and get some understanding of what it means to them and what just a few words can do for someone,” Scott said. “It’s really the least you can do for somebody who’s fighting on and showing strength that you can’t even really imagine.”

Back inside the clubhouse, Scott and Lisa Yarbro exchanged another hug and posed for pictures.

Lisa then thanked him one more time and Scott left her with a parting message.

“Keep fighting,” he said.

“I will,” Lisa responded.



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