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Sandy Lyle

Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle OBE (born 9 February 1958) is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s. He spent 167 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking from its introduction, in 1986, until 1989.[2] Lyle was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in May 2012.[3]

Sandy Lyle
OBE
Lyle in 2006
Personal information
Full nameAlexander Walter Barr Lyle
Born (1958-02-09) 9 February 1958 (age 66)
Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Sporting nationality Scotland
ResidenceBalquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, U.S.
Spouse
Christine
​
​
(m. 1981; div. 1987)​
Jolande
​
(m. 1989)​
Children4
Career
Turned professional1977
Current tour(s)European Senior Tour
Champions Tour
Former tour(s)European Tour
PGA Tour
Professional wins30
Highest ranking2 (10 April 1988)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour6
European Tour18
Japan Golf Tour1
European Senior Tour1
Other6
Best results in major championships
(wins: 2)
Masters TournamentWon: 1988
PGA ChampionshipT16: 1991
U.S. OpenT16: 1991
The Open ChampionshipWon: 1985
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame2012 (member page)
Sir Henry Cotton
Rookie of the Year		1978
European Tour
Order of Merit winner/
Official money list winner		1979, 1980, 1985

Lyle was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2024 Birthday Honours for services to golf.[4]

Early life

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Lyle was born in Shrewsbury, England[5] and now lives in Scotland with his wife Jolande and children Lonneke and Quintin. He represented Scotland during his professional career. He was introduced to golf by his father, Alex, who had taken the family from Scotland to England in 1955 when he became resident professional at Hawkstone Park golf course.[6] Their family home was just 40 yards from the pro-shop and 18th green. He began playing with miniature clubs at the age of 3. At schoolboy, junior and amateur level Lyle represented England.

Amateur career

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In the summer of 1974, Lyle received a golf scholarship to the University of Houston. However, he did not pass the entrance examination and was not allowed to attend the university. Lyle returned to Britain "to find another route into professional golf."[7]

As an amateur Lyle made his debut in The Open Championship at age 16 in 1974 and won the Brabazon Trophy in 1975 and 1977. He was a member of the Walker Cup team in 1977.

Professional career

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In 1977 he turned professional and decided to represent Scotland. He was medalist at the 1977 Qualifying School tournament for the European Tour. His first professional win came in the 1978 Nigerian Open, and he also won the Sir Henry Cotton Award as European Rookie of the Year that season. Lyle attained the first of an eventual 18 European Tour titles in 1979.

Lyle, for Scotland, finished runner-up at the World Cup of Golf team event in 1979, 1980 and 1987; in the latter year Lyle captured the low individual trophy in that event.

Lyle showed his quality by winning The Open Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club in 1985. He was the first British winner since Tony Jacklin in 1969, and continued the rise of European golfers in the world scene.

Lyle was a member of five European Ryder Cup teams, from 1979 to 1987 inclusive. Highlights from those years included the team that was victorious at the Belfry in the autumn of 1985, and the 1987 team which won for the first time ever on American soil, at Muirfield Village.

For many golf fans he is best known for the fairway bunker shot and the subsequent birdie putt at the 18th hole in the final round of the Masters in 1988 when he became the first Briton to wear the green jacket.[8] He also won two other events on the PGA Tour that season, along with the World Match Play Championship, after being a losing finalist on several occasions.

Lyle topped the European Tour's order of merit in 1979, 1980 and 1985. He finished in the top ten nine times between 1979 and 1992. He was also a member of the PGA Tour for several years and finished seventh on the US money list in 1988, despite a limited playing schedule. He won the 1987 Tournament Players Championship, one of the most prestigious American titles. Lyle's form dropped after 1992, when he was 34, and he has not won a significant event since.

Legacy

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As a player, Lyle is known for his cool temperament and placid exterior. In his peak years, he was very long from the tee and through the set, and had enough accuracy to master any course. His achievements inspired fellow rivals such as Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam to raise their games, and go on to win the majors. Lyle published his first book, "To the Fairway Born" in 2006. In the same year he was assistant captain to Ian Woosnam when Europe won the Ryder Cup. He had been hoping to be picked as the captain for the 2010 European Ryder Cup team but missed out to Colin Montgomerie.[9]

In July 2009, Lyle became involved in a public row with Colin Montgomerie where he unfavourably compared Montgomerie's actions at the Indonesian Open four years previously with his own actions in not completing a round at the 2008 Open Championship.[10] Reaction to this was mixed with some players supporting Lyle while other players and commentators felt that Lyle's timing was unfortunate and that any point he may have had was lost in the ensuing controversy.[11]

Senior career

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On turning 50 in 2008, Lyle played on the Champions Tour[12] and the European Senior Tour.

Lyle won his first tournament in 19 years when he captured his first European Senior Tour title at the 2011 ISPS Handa Senior World Championship, held in China.[13]

He took up hickory golf, winning the World Hickory Open in his native Scotland in 2014 and 2016. Lyle referred to the 2016 victory as his "fourth major" to go along with the 2014 crown, as well as the 1988 Masters and 1985 Open titles. [14]

Amateur wins

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Professional wins (30)

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PGA Tour wins (6)

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Legend
Major championships (2)
Players Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (3)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 21 Jul 1985 The Open Championship +2 (68-71-73-70=282) 1 stroke   Payne Stewart
2 6 Apr 1986 Greater Greensboro Open −13 (68-64-73-70=275) 2 strokes   Andy Bean
3 29 Mar 1987 Tournament Players Championship −14 (67-71-66-70=274) Playoff   Jeff Sluman
4 31 Jan 1988 Phoenix Open −15 (68-68-68-65=269) Playoff   Fred Couples
5 3 Apr 1988 KMart Greater Greensboro Open (2) −17 (68-63-68-72=271) Playoff   Ken Green
6 10 Apr 1988 Masters Tournament −7 (71-67-72-71=281) 1 stroke   Mark Calcavecchia

PGA Tour playoff record (3–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1987 Tournament Players Championship   Jeff Sluman Won with par on third extra hole
2 1988 Phoenix Open   Fred Couples Won with bogey on third extra hole
3 1988 KMart Greater Greensboro Open   Ken Green Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 1989 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic   Paul Azinger,   Steve Jones Jones won with birdie on first extra hole

European Tour wins (18)

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Legend
Major championships (2)
Tour Championships (1)
Other European Tour (15)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 3 Jun 1979 B.A./Avis Open −13 (66-71-66-68=271) 3 strokes   Howard Clark
2 8 Jul 1979 Scandinavian Enterprise Open −12 (73-69-65-69=276) 3 strokes   Seve Ballesteros
3 9 Sep 1979 European Open Championship −9 (71-67-72-65=275) 7 strokes   Dale Hayes,   Peter Townsend
4 29 Jun 1980 Coral Welsh Classic −11 (72-69-67-69=277) 5 strokes   Martin Foster
5 10 May 1981 Paco Rabanne Open de France −14 (70-66-67-67=270) 4 strokes   Bernhard Langer
6 7 Jun 1981 Lawrence Batley International −4 (70-70-69-71=280) 2 strokes   Nick Faldo
7 25 Jul 1982 Lawrence Batley International (2) −15 (70-66-67-66=269) 2 strokes   Manuel Piñero
8 24 Apr 1983 Cepsa Madrid Open −3 (70-69-76-70=285) 2 strokes   Gordon J. Brand
9 6 May 1984 Italian Open −11 (71-70-68-68=277) 4 strokes   Bobby Clampett
10 7 Oct 1984 Trophée Lancôme −10 (74-70-67-67=278) Playoff   Seve Ballesteros
11 21 Jul 1985 The Open Championship +2 (68-71-73-70=282) 1 stroke   Payne Stewart
12 18 Aug 1985 Benson & Hedges International Open −14 (70-69-71-64=274) 1 stroke   Ian Woosnam
13 11 Oct 1987 German Masters −10 (73-69-70-66=278) Playoff   Bernhard Langer
14 10 Apr 1988 Masters Tournament −7 (71-67-72-71=281) 1 stroke   Mark Calcavecchia
15 5 Jun 1988 Dunhill British Masters −15 (66-68-68-71=273) 2 strokes   Nick Faldo,   Mark McNulty
16 13 Oct 1991 BMW International Open −20 (65-65-71-67=268) 3 strokes   Tony Johnstone
17 3 May 1992 Lancia Martini Italian Open (2) −18 (66-71-65-68=270) 1 stroke   Colin Montgomerie
18 1 Nov 1992 Volvo Masters +3 (72-70-72-73=287) Playoff   Colin Montgomerie

European Tour playoff record (3–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1983 Ebel European Masters Swiss Open   Nick Faldo Lost to par on second extra hole
2 1984 Trophée Lancôme   Seve Ballesteros Won with birdie on first extra hole
3 1985 Whyte & Mackay PGA Championship   Paul Way Lost to birdie on third extra hole
4 1985 Glasgow Open   Howard Clark Lost to birdie on second extra hole
5 1987 German Masters   Bernhard Langer Won with par on second extra hole
6 1992 Volvo Masters   Colin Montgomerie Won with par on first extra hole

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 25 Nov 1984 Casio World Open −9 (68-69-71-71=279) Playoff   Gary Koch

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1984 Casio World Open   Gary Koch Won with birdie on first extra hole

Safari Circuit wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 27 Feb 1978 Nigerian Open −15 (61-63-70-75=269) Playoff   Michael King

Other wins (5)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 2 Sep 1979 STV Scottish Professional Championship −10 (66-71-70-67=274) Playoff   Sam Torrance
2 14 Dec 1980 World Cup International Trophy −6 (69-69-74-70=282) 1 stroke   Bernhard Langer
3 11 Nov 1984 Kapalua International −18 (68-64-69-65=266) 8 strokes   Bernhard Langer
4 10 Nov 1985 Nissan Cup Individual Trophy −21 (68-67-68-64=267) 3 strokes   Curtis Strange
5 10 Oct 1988 Suntory World Match Play Championship 2 and 1   Nick Faldo

Other playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1979 STV Scottish Professional Championship   Sam Torrance Won with par on third extra hole

European Senior Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 13 Mar 2011 ISPS Handa Senior World Championship −12 (68-66-70=204) 3 strokes   Peter Fowler

Playoff record

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Korean Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1997 Hyundai Motor Masters   Ian Woosnam Lost to birdie on second extra hole

Major championships

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Wins (2)

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Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1985 The Open Championship 3 shot deficit +2 (68-71-73-70=282) 1 stroke   Payne Stewart
1988 Masters Tournament 2 shot lead −7 (71-67-72-71=281) 1 stroke   Mark Calcavecchia

Results timeline

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Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT T19
PGA Championship
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament 48 T28 CUT T25 T11 T17 1 CUT
U.S. Open CUT CUT T45 T36 T25 CUT
The Open Championship T12 T14 T8 CUT T14 1 T30 T17 T7 T46
PGA Championship CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament CUT CUT T37 T21 T38 CUT CUT T34 CUT T48
U.S. Open CUT T16 T51 T52
The Open Championship T16 WD T12 CUT 74 T79 T56 CUT T19 CUT
PGA Championship T16 CUT T56 T73 T39
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT CUT T37 CUT CUT 43 45 T20
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT T69 T75 CUT 73 T32 CUT T65 WD CUT
PGA Championship
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT T54 T44 CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT 84 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
PGA Championship
Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
PGA Championship
U.S. Open
The Open Championship NT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half way cut (3rd round cut in 1974 and 1983 Open Championships)
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 1 0 0 1 1 6 42 17
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 4
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 2 10 6
The Open Championship 1 0 0 1 3 11 43 22
Totals 2 0 0 2 4 20 101 49
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (1984 Open Championship – 1988 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (four times)

The Players Championship

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Wins (1)

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Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1987 Tournament Players Championship 2 shot deficit −14 (67-71-66-70=274) Playoff   Jeff Sluman

Results timeline

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Tournament 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
The Players Championship CUT CUT 1 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT T74 CUT CUT T70 CUT
  Win
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in senior major championships

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Results not in chronological order before 2021.

Tournament 2008 2009
The Tradition 51 T50
Senior PGA Championship T43 CUT
U.S. Senior Open CUT
Senior Players Championship T65 T31
Senior British Open Championship CUT T13
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
The Tradition T45 T33 T69 T35 T34 T58 T57 T68
Senior PGA Championship CUT CUT T4 T42 CUT T9 CUT T63 T64 CUT
U.S. Senior Open
Senior Players Championship T67 T30 T22 T65 T64 T72 T68 T60
Senior British Open Championship CUT CUT CUT 7 CUT T51 CUT T45 T43 CUT
Tournament 2020 2021 2022
The Tradition NT 73 WD
Senior PGA Championship NT
Senior Players Championship
U.S. Senior Open NT
Senior British Open Championship NT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Team appearances

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Amateur

Professional

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 15 1988 Ending 10 Apr 1988" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  2. ^ "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking" (PDF). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Sandy Lyle, Peter Alliss picked for Hall". ESPN. Associated Press. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Awards for Birthday Honours List 2024" (PDF).
  5. ^ "Sandy Lyle". PGATOUR.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
  6. ^ "Hawkstone Park Golf Club". National Club Golfer. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  7. ^ "The Sydney Morning Herald 23 Jul 1985, page Page 27". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  8. ^ Viner, Brian (28 March 2008). "Sandy Lyle: 'I don't know whether there's ever been a better shot in a major'". The Independent. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  9. ^ "Lyle downcast over Cup decision". BBC News. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  10. ^ Donegan, Lawrence (12 July 2009). "Sandy Lyle accuses Colin Montgomerie of a 'form of cheating'". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  11. ^ "Lyle's Montgomerie outburst condemned". Channel 4. 23 May 2011. Archived from the original on 18 July 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  12. ^ "PGA Tour profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  13. ^ Ballengee, Ryan (13 March 2011). "Sandy Lyle wins for first time in nearly two decades". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on 17 April 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  14. ^ "Sandy Lyle Adds to 'Major' Titles with Another World Hickory Open Victory". Society of Hickory Golfers. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
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