Product Code Database
Alexander Walter Barr " Sandy" Lyle (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.
As a schoolboy, at junior and amateur level, Lyle represented England.
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.
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 started the rise of British 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 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.
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.
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.
| Major championships (2) |
| Players Championships (1) |
| Other PGA Tour (3) |
| 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)
| 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 |
| Major championships (2) |
| Tour Championships (1) |
| Other European Tour (15) |
| 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)
| 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 |
| 1 | 25 Nov 1984 | Casio World Open | −9 (68-69-71-71=279) | Playoff | Gary Koch |
PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (1–0)
| 1 | 1984 | Casio World Open | Gary Koch | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 1 | 27 Feb 1978 | Nigerian Open | −15 (61-63-70-75=269) | Playoff | Michael King |
| 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)
| 1 | 1979 | STV Scottish Professional Championship | Sam Torrance | Won with par on third extra hole |
| 1 | 13 Mar 2011 | ISPS Handa Senior World Championship | −12 (68-66-70=204) | 3 strokes | Peter Fowler |
| 1 | 1997 | Hyundai Motor Masters | Ian Woosnam | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
| Payne Stewart |
| Mark Calcavecchia |
| Masters Tournament | ||||||
| U.S. Open | ||||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | T19 | ||
| PGA Championship |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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
| 17 |
| 4 |
| 6 |
| 22 |
| Jeff Sluman |
| 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
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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
Professional
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