Sandy Lyle praised by two-time US Open winner - 'Such a strong player. Such a good guy'

Sandy Lyle has already announced that he’s called time on his tour career and, by the looks of things, that could signal a 42nd and final Masters appearance at Augusta National next week.

The Scot, of course, created history at the Georgia venue in 1988, when he became the first British and Irish player to win a Green Jacket, and, boy, did he do it in style. Lyle’s 7-iron from a fairway bunker at the 18th in the final round to set up a title-winning birdie is one of the tournament’s most iconic shots and rightly so.

The triumph came three years after he’d also won The Open at Royal St George’s, with Lyle once receiving the ultimate testimonial from his Ryder Cup team-mate, Seve Ballesteros. "The greatest God-given talent in history,” said the Spaniard. “If everyone in the world was playing their best, Sandy would win and I'd come second.

In a wide-ranging chat about The Masters, where they will once again be part of the ESPN broadcast team, former US Open champions Andy North and Curtis Strange also heaped praise on one of Scotland’s favourite sporting sons.

Sandy Lyle walks up to the 18th green at Augusta National en route to victory in the 1988 Masters. Picture: Allsport UK/Allsport.

“Well, I was fortunate that I got to play an awful lot of golf with Sandy,” said North, who won the US Open in both 1978 and 1985. “An unbelievably talented player. I think that sometimes gets lost in that era where you had Seve and Nick [Faldo] and [Bernhard] Langer, that Sandy sort of gets put on the side a little bit, and his numbers in his career were just as good as those guys.

“The one thing that I think most average golf fans will remember about Sandy forever is that he had a Ping 1-iron that he hit miles. He was one of the first guys that would hit 1-iron instead of driver, and he hit it eight miles. Such a strong player. Such a good guy.

“I think a little bit misunderstood, and you probably know that more than the American press do, that he would say what he believed, and sometimes people didn't like that. That's how it goes. But Sandy has had a wonderful career, and he will be well thought of for a long time.”

Strange, a winner of consecutive US Opens in 1988 and 1989, concurred. “Yeah, he's been a class act for many, many years,” said the 2002 Ryder Cup captain. “He's gone about his business quietly. He's done his thing. I've admired him and still do. I played with Sandy last year in a casual event. We had a great day.

“He was part of the regime that started to change the game. I often say, ‘how did the European Ryder Cup team become so strong?’ Well, for five reasons, Sandy Lyle, Bernhard Langer, Seve, Nick and Ian [Woosnam]. Sandy was one of the fivesome that changed the Ryder Cup and the competition. And, of course his major wins. He's been a great asset to the game.”

Lyle also made his mark off the course in his dealings with the media, as acknowledged by Scott Van Pelt, who will be anchoring ESPN’s coverage at the season’s opening major in Georgia.

“I was lucky enough to meet him after he'd achieved his greatest moments in the sport, and I just enjoyed him,” he said. “I enjoyed his company. I enjoyed that he was thoughtful when we chatted, and was always a gentleman with me. I always got on well with him.

“The thing about the sport, and I think about it often, because this isn't all that I do but it's where I started, I just am grateful that golf was the sport that was my on ramp into this business and I consider myself incredibly fortunate because of the types of people that I've gotten to meet.

“And Sandy is on that list of just gentlemen that you think achieved an enormous amount and was always gracious with me, always patient with me when I was a young guy kind of finding my way. Tip of the cap for a hell of a run.”