AKRON, Ohio — The Kaulig Companies Golf Championship begins tomorrow at Firestone. One of the pros holds the distinction of being the only player to beat Tiger Woods in a playoff. His name is Billy Mayfair and recently the 56-year-old made news after being diagnosed with autism four years ago.
Mayfair is one of the top professional golfers in the U.S. and has been a regular on the PGA Tour since 1989.
But life changed in 2019.
While competing in a senior tour event in California, Mayfair was disqualified after two separate rules violations in the same round. He was confused and his frustration erupted.
His wife, Tami, refers to similar episodes as "meltdowns" and she'd seen them frequently.
By this point she'd found a neuropsychologist, but it took effort for her to get her husband to the appointment.
He finally went, but it took two weeks for Mayfair to process the diagnosis.
Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD.
"When I finally did, it opened up a Pandora's box for me. It made me understand why I had problems in school, why some classes in school I did so well in and others I struggled so much in because of the teacher or the way that the subject was taught. But it also made things very clear to me why I love the game of golf, why I why I'm good at it and why I can hyperfocus so well," Mayfair said.
He's on the highly functioning side of the spectrum. His brain works differently and he often needs time to process information.
"You're struggling with it, even yesterday out here in Ohio, during the day, I kind of had a meltdown trying to learn the process and you never quite get it down and you're learning every day something new. So I tell people to be patient with it, but at least if you know why it's happening, it helps a lot," Mayfair said.
"So what is a meltdown? It's when their brain is spinning so hard that their neurons can't have the electric jolt to come together to create a thought, which is why we need to give them that extra second for that neuron to get together so they can answer our question," said Tami Mayfair, Billy's wife.
She recognized the symptoms years ago. Hyper sensitivity is one of them.
"You noticed little quirks in the beginning, and there are little signs that you brush off to other explanations. But I noticed his speech because I would correct words or I'd always ask definitions. He was always hyper sensitive, there could not be one crack of light in the hotel window at night, the sound of a ticking clock would set him off, all tags had to be pulled out of his shirts, these are telltale signs," Tami said.
Today autism is typically diagnosed in kids at a young age. But the CDC says new research revealed 2.2% of American adults have ASD.
Mayfair now has an autism service dog, Boomer, who recognizes when he's about to have an episode. The dog paws at him and licks his face for a distraction. He also pushes into Mayfair's abdomen which also acts as a stress reliever.
Mayfair still struggles with communication.
"I have a hard time reading other people's facial expressions and sometimes when they're saying something, they mean one thing and I'm reading it as another. That's something that I'm still working hard on today," Mayfair said.
He and Tami are on a mission to educate and encourage people to find help.
Tami strongly recommends people meet specifically with a neuropsychologist.
The couple also started the nonprofit, Billy and Tami Mayfair Foundation to help both amateur and professional athletes and their families struggling with Autism spectrum related disorders.