‘Delighted’ Lyle set to step into Hall of Fame

TWO-TIME major winner Sandy Lyle will enjoy another career highlight today when he is inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame along with Peter Alliss and Phil Mickelson.

The trio will join some of the game’s most distinguished figures when the honour is bestowed on them at a ceremony at the World Golf Village in St Augustine in Floria. Lyle was selected through the international ballot, polling 53 per cent of the votes to pip compatriot Colin Montgomerie.

“I am not only delighted, but also very excited to be honoured,” when it was announced in December that he had made the list of 2102 inductees. “I would like to thank all who voted for me. To be placed in the company of the greatest names in our game is very special and I am looking forward so much to the induction ceremony.”

It has long been felt that the Scot’s place in the Hall of Fame was overdue, having won the Open at Royal St George’s in 1985 then the Masters three years later, when he made a birdie on the 18th hole to become the first British winner at Augusta National. In total, he has won 29 tournaments worldwide, including 16 on the European Tour and three other PGA Tour titles.

Alliss, the BBC’s ‘Voice of Golf’, is being inducted via the lifetime achievement category, with the two other inductees today apart from Mickelson being former US Women’s Open winner Hollis Stacy and leading American sportswriter Dan Jenkins.

Each year, the World Golf Hall of Fame adds to its membership by inducting the greatest players and contributors in the game of golf through five categories – PGA Tour, international, LPGA, lifetime achievement and veterans.