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Sandy Lyle
OBE
Lyle in 2006
Personal information
Full name Alexander Walter Barr Lyle
Born (1958-02-09) 9 February 1958 (age 66)
Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England
Height 6 ft 0 in
Nationality  Scotland
Residence Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, U.S.
Spouse
Christine
​
​
(m. 1981; div. 1987)​
Jolande
​
(m. 1989)​
Children 4
Career
Turned professional 1977
Current tour(s) European Senior Tour
Champions Tour
Former tour(s) European Tour
PGA Tour
Professional wins 30
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 6
European Tour 18
Japan Golf Tour 1
European Seniors Tour 1
Other 6
Best results in Major Championships
(Wins: 2)
The Masters Tournament Won: 1988
U.S. Open T16: 1991
The Open Championship Won: 1985
PGA Championship T16: 1991
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 2012
Sir Henry Cotton
Rookie of the Year		 1978
European Tour
Order of Merit winner/
Official money list winner		 1979, 1980, 1985

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. Lyle was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in May 2012.

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

Early life

Lyle was born in Shrewsbury, England 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. 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

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."

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

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. 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

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.

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. 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.

Senior career

On turning 50 in 2008, Lyle played on the Champions Tour 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.

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.

Amateur wins

  • 1975 Brabazon Trophy, Carris Trophy
  • 1977 Brabazon Trophy, Berkshire Trophy, British Youths Open Amateur Championship, Berkhamsted Trophy, Hampshire Hog

Professional wins (30)

PGA Tour wins (6)

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 United States Payne Stewart
2 6 Apr 1986 Greater Greensboro Open −13 (68-64-73-70=275) 2 strokes United States Andy Bean
3 29 Mar 1987 Tournament Players Championship −14 (67-71-66-70=274) Playoff United States Jeff Sluman
4 31 Jan 1988 Phoenix Open −15 (68-68-68-65=269) Playoff United States Fred Couples
5 3 Apr 1988 KMart Greater Greensboro Open (2) −17 (68-63-68-72=271) Playoff United States Ken Green
6 10 Apr 1988 Masters Tournament −7 (71-67-72-71=281) 1 stroke United States Mark Calcavecchia

PGA Tour playoff record (3–1)

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

European Tour wins (18)

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 England Howard Clark
2 8 Jul 1979 Scandinavian Enterprise Open −12 (73-69-65-69=276) 3 strokes Spain Seve Ballesteros
3 9 Sep 1979 European Open Championship −9 (71-67-72-65=275) 7 strokes South Africa Dale Hayes, England Peter Townsend
4 29 Jun 1980 Coral Welsh Classic −11 (72-69-67-69=277) 5 strokes England Martin Foster
5 10 May 1981 Paco Rabanne Open de France −14 (70-66-67-67=270) 4 strokes West Germany Bernhard Langer
6 7 Jun 1981 Lawrence Batley International −4 (70-70-69-71=280) 2 strokes England Nick Faldo
7 25 Jul 1982 Lawrence Batley International (2) −15 (70-66-67-66=269) 2 strokes Spain Manuel Piñero
8 24 Apr 1983 Cepsa Madrid Open −3 (70-69-76-70=285) 2 strokes England Gordon J. Brand
9 6 May 1984 Italian Open −11 (71-70-68-68=277) 4 strokes United States Bobby Clampett
10 7 Oct 1984 Trophée Lancôme −10 (74-70-67-67=278) Playoff Spain Seve Ballesteros
11 21 Jul 1985 The Open Championship +2 (68-71-73-70=282) 1 stroke United States Payne Stewart
12 18 Aug 1985 Benson & Hedges International Open −14 (70-69-71-64=274) 1 stroke Wales Ian Woosnam
13 11 Oct 1987 German Masters −10 (73-69-70-66=278) Playoff West Germany Bernhard Langer
14 10 Apr 1988 Masters Tournament −7 (71-67-72-71=281) 1 stroke United States Mark Calcavecchia
15 5 Jun 1988 Dunhill British Masters −15 (66-68-68-71=273) 2 strokes England Nick Faldo, Zimbabwe Mark McNulty
16 13 Oct 1991 BMW International Open −20 (65-65-71-67=268) 3 strokes Zimbabwe Tony Johnstone
17 3 May 1992 Lancia Martini Italian Open (2) −18 (66-71-65-68=270) 1 stroke Scotland Colin Montgomerie
18 1 Nov 1992 Volvo Masters +3 (72-70-72-73=287) Playoff Scotland Colin Montgomerie

European Tour playoff record (3–3)

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

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

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

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (1–0)

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

Safari Circuit wins (1)

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

Other wins (5)

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 Scotland Sam Torrance
2 14 Dec 1980 World Cup International Trophy −6 (69-69-74-70=282) 1 stroke West Germany Bernhard Langer
3 11 Nov 1984 Kapalua International −18 (68-64-69-65=266) 8 strokes West Germany Bernhard Langer
4 10 Nov 1985 Nissan Cup Individual Trophy −21 (68-67-68-64=267) 3 strokes United States Curtis Strange
5 10 Oct 1988 Suntory World Match Play Championship 2 and 1 England Nick Faldo

Other playoff record (1–0)

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

European Senior Tour wins (1)

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 Australia Peter Fowler

Playoff record

Korean Tour playoff record (0–1)

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

Major championships

Wins (2)

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

Results timeline

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

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

Wins (1)

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

Results timeline

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

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

Amateur

  • Walker Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1977
  • Commonwealth Tournament (representing Great Britain): 1975
  • St Andrews Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1976 (winners)
  • European Amateur Team Championship (representing England): 1977

Professional

  • Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985 (winners), 1987 (winners)
  • World Cup (representing Scotland): 1979, 1980 (individual winner), 1987
  • Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1980 (winners), 1982 (winners), (representing Scotland) 1984 (individual winner)
  • Dunhill Cup (representing Scotland): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992
  • Nissan Cup/Kirin Cup (representing Europe): 1985 (individual winner), 1986, 1987
  • UBS Cup (representing the Rest of the World): 2004

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Sandy Lyle para niños

  • List of golfers with most European Tour wins
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