POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Three-time PGA Tour winner Bart Bryant was killed Tuesday in a two-vehicle crash along State Route 33 in unincorporated Polk City, Florida, according to deputies.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said Bryant, 59, and his wife were waiting in a white Volkswagen SUV while construction crews, equipped with flags, cones and signs, stopped traffic in the northbound and southbound directions of SR 33.
While the couple was stopped, authorities said a black 2011 Ford F-150 pickup truck, driven by 21-year-old Mark Farkas of Clermont, was driving southbound at roughly 60 mph when he failed to stop.
Deputies said Farkas’ pickup truck slammed into the back of the Volkswagen.
When first responders arrived, they found the 59-year-old Auburndale golfer unresponsive. Authorities said CPR was immediately administered until Bryant arrived at a local hospital where he ultimately died as a result of his injuries.
Bryant’s 49-year-old wife, Donna, was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries.
Farkas was not injured.
Authorities said it is currently unknown why Farkas failed to stop for traffic before he crashed. An investigation is ongoing.
In a tweet, the PGA Tour said, “The PGA Tour family mourns the tragic loss of 3-time Tour winner Bart Bryant.”
In their own statement, the Bryant family said they are grateful for the prayers and support they’ve received from the golf community.
“We know Bart is with Jesus. We will miss him,” the Bryant Family said in the statement.
Bryant was 41 when he won his first PGA Tour event, the Valero Texas Open, according to PGA Tour’s website.
The year after that, he beat two World Golf Hall of Famers, and cracked the top 25 in the world rankings, the website said. In his 2005 Tour Championship debut at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club, he beat Tiger Woods.
“I certainly don’t put myself in the same category as Retief (Goosen) and Vijay (Singh) and Davis Love and Tiger Woods,” Bryant said at the time, according to the PGA Tour’s website. “I mean, these guys are the elite players in the world. … But I have found out that if I’m on top of my game under the right conditions, I definitely can compete with these guys.”