To say that Billy Mayfair faced a lot of challenges as a professional golfer would be an understatement. The 58-year-old was an active PGA Tour card holder since 1989. In his 27-year career, Mayfair saw a lot of ups and downs. He was able to clinch the titles, a total of 5 times. All before the 21st century. Like many, Tiger Woods’s era limited the opportunities players like Billy Mayfair received to win a title. Yet, he fought on to compete.

His battles were often wayward, even absurd at times; at least to the layman. It seemed like Mayfair was constantly in a tussle with the officials over various incidents. Incidents that he now realizes were only in his mind. Who can forget the dramatic scenes of the 2019 Invesco QQQ Championship? The bizarre ball search at the 11th hole led to penalties due to time wastage. That was followed by the mysterious movement of the ball on the 17th or at least the way the 58-year-old had described it. The Rules officials had no choice but to disqualify him for multiple offences throughout the day. Mayfair ended up getting disqualified from the second round. He certainly seemed clueless about the whole incident.

Speaking of the way Mayfair’s mind works, he spoke about it at length in a recent podcast. Let’s see what he had to say.

The world through Billy Mayfair’s eyes

Billy Mayfair often saw things that didn’t actually happen. And yet, he claimed that they did; even fought for it. Mayfair was taking the world head-on and trying to win; without knowing what he was experiencing might not be real. No, Billy Mayfair wasn’t delusional.

During the Sweet Spot Golf podcast, the Phoenix local was autistic; something that he realized much later in his life. Mayfair always wondered why he struggled so much after having played throughout his career with autism. He talked about instances where he would question things that didn’t happen on the course, only to be ignored by the officials. Self-admittedly, Mayfair is a “high-functioning” autistic; comparing himself to the character of Sheldon Cooper from ‘The Big Bang Theory’. He stated that he was tested for autism when he was 52 years old.

Mayfair mentioned how the diagnosis made him realize so many things about himself. He said, “It just takes my brain a little bit longer to process information than everybody else”. With this information in Mayfair’s hands, he adapted to the PGA Tour by clarifying with everyone that he shouldn’t be distracted at any point when he is playing a hole. They can communicate before he tees off or after he sinks the ball.

He mentioned that people always assume “I’ve been rude or stuck up or mean because of it”. But Mayfair explained that he couldn’t help it. It was his autism that was acting up. But when he did finally understand his issues, the first thought that came to his mind was, “I gotta let people know this. I gotta tell people that ‘you’re not the oddballs'”. Mayfair said that he encouraged people to get tested for autism themselves to find their path.

It’s hard to imagine the journey Billy Mayfair had as a professional golfer. Despite that, he accomplished quite a lot in his career. Let’s take a look at some of his achievements.

Juggling with autism and the best golfers in the world

Despite making his debut in 1989, Billy Mayfair needed a few years before he started winning titles. But once he got going, he never looked back. Mayfair won 5 PGA Tour tournaments in his career between 1993 and 1998. This included the 1995 Tour Championship and the 1998 Buick Open. However, his biggest win would have definitely come against Tiger Woods.

In the 1998 Nissan Open, Woods and Mayfair were tied at the top of the table after 72 holes. Going into the playoffs, the young Tiger Woods was the favorite to come out on top. But after a hard-fought battle, it was Billy Mayfair who ruled the course and lifted the title. 1998 was a great year for the Arizona-based golfer as he also had a runner-up finish and 3 other top 10s by the end of the season.

Don’t you think Billy Mayfair had a great career in the PGA Tour despite struggling with undiagnosed autism? Share your views in the comments section.