RSS
|
|
|
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. As a schoolboy, junior and amateur level Lyle represented Scotland. As an amateur Lyle won the Brabazon Trophy in 1975 and 1977. He was a member of the Walker Cup team. In 1977 he turned professional and made the decision to represent Scotland. Lyle showed his quality by winning The Open Championship at Sandwich 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 the European Ryder Cup team that was victorious at the Belfry in the autumn of 1985. For many golf fans he is best known for the bunker shot 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 the World Match Play Championship in 1988 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 money list in 1988. In 1989 Lyle's form fell away, and apart from a good year in Europe in 1992, he has not been a regular contender since then. His prime thus ended in his early thirties, which is unusually young for a professional golfer. As a player, Lyle is known for his cool temperament and placid exterior. 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 primarily due to the fact that he was no longer close enough to the players likely to be in that team. In 2008, Lyle played on the Champions Tour and the European Seniors Tour. In July 2009, Lyle got into a very 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. |
