# 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.

## 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.

### 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.

## 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.

## Awards and honors

* 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.

## 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 | 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)

* 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)

| 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)

| 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)

| 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 | 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)

| 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

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
### 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 | Payne Stewart |
| 1988 | Masters Tournament | 2 shot lead | −7 (71-67-72-71=281) | 1 stroke | Mark Calcavecchia |

### Results timeline

Results not in chronological order in 2020.
| Tournament | 1974 | 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 | | | |
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 | 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 |
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 |
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