Sandy Lyle calls time on Hall of Fame career
Sandy Lyle is hanging up his spikes after 45 years on tour.
The Scot, who turned 65 last month, announced his decision at the conclusion of the Galleri Classic to bring the curtain down on a career that has spanned six decades and yielded 30 wins – including a Masters and an Open Championship.
“This is the last one,” Lyle said after finishing in last place at Mission Hills. “I’ve travelled the world for 50-odd years now. I know the Champions Tour is a travelling circus like all the other tours, or the tennis tour, or the PGA Tour, and you get to know the guys you play with and compete with. You’ll miss them to a certain amount, but you’ll still see a lot of them on television.
“Television has exposed golf so much in the last 25 years, it’s incredible. I can sit in my house in Scotland and watch in detail who’s gone where, and then [at] the majors there’s even more information coming through. It makes it exciting.”
Then, when told by the reporter he will be missed, Lyle joked: “Well, you never know!”
He added: “I could come out to Jacksonville, which has been my home for 25 years, [as] I’m sure the winters in Scotland will turn your mind a bit and [we will] say, ‘Let’s get out of here for a month.'”
Lyle, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012, plans to “still be involved in golf” in some capacity, adding: “Whether it’s coaching or commentating, I’ll always be a part of the game.”
Lyle lifted the Claret Jug in 1985 before becoming the UK’s first Masters champion three years later – largely thanks to on of the finest shots in golf history at the 72nd hole. He is also the only Briton to have won The Players at TPC Sawgrass. The 18-time European Tour winner’s last victory on the main tours came at the 1992 Volvo Masters – now the DP World Tour Championship.
He also played in five Ryder Cup teams – including two wins – and returned eight points for Europe, though he somewhat controversially was never selected to captain the team.
His last victory – and only win on any of the senior circuits – came at the 2011 ISPS Handa Senior World Championship.
Sandy Lyle retires: The tributes
Alex Perry
Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.
