Sandy Lyle faces the prospect of making his final appearance at The Open when the former champion competes for the 43rd time in golf’s oldest Championship.
The 1985 champion made his debut in the tournament aged 16 but this week’s edition at Carnoustie is the last time he qualifies automatically before his exemption comes to an end, having turned 60 in February.
Lyle became the first British winner of The Open in 16 years, following Tony Jacklin, when he finished one shot clear of Payne Stewart at Sandwich and has been handed the honour of hitting the opening tee shot of The 147th Open.
Further major success would follow in 1988 at the Masters, as he created history in becoming the first Briton to win at Augusta but his triumph at Royal St George’s remains a great story.
1985 Open champion Sandy Lyle opens up about the emotions of nearing the end of his career as he approaches what could be his last Open championship
On his 10th appearance in The Open, Lyle carded his best opening round in the event – a two-under 68 – to lie four shots off Christy O’Connor Jr’s lead in a share for second place.
A one-over 71 in the second round left Lyle at the top of the leaderboard alongside Australia’s David Graham.
A third-round three-over 73 hampered his chances of lifting the Claret Jug, trailing overnight leaders Graham and Bernhard Langer by three, with the event having its last ever double cut.
After eating into their lead over the front nine the pivotal stage of the Scot’s final round was midway through the back nine.
Back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th proved crucial in Lyle in finding the momentum to finish ahead of his nearest rivals, who were to struggle over the closing holes.
With Stewart in the clubhouse with the 72-hole lead on three over par – the same mark as Lyle held on the 14th tee – all was still to play for.
Lyle found the left rough with his tee shot to the 14th and was forced to advance the ball about 50 yards, leaving over 200 yards to the green, but he was up to the test and holed from 20 foot.
His second consecutive birdie demonstrated his power as he found the green in two with a six iron while playing partner O’Connor Jr needed a four-wood. A 12-foot putt would hand him a one-shot lead with three holes to play.
After battling to maintain his lead into the final hole, then came the drama of the 18th, which threatened to hit his hopes of a first major title.
Factfile: Sandy Lyle at The Open
| Previous Open appearances | 44 |
| Age | 60 |
| Turned pro | 1977 |
| Best finish | 1st (1985) |
| Missed cuts | 16 |
Lyle sank to his knees in disappointment as his greenside pitch out of rough went up the bank only to roll back down – just in front of where he had played his chip shot from.
Nevertheless, a two-putt left an agonising wait but his triumph was confirmed when Graham bogeyed three of the last four holes and Langer two of the last three.
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