In the first of a two-part feature marking Sandy Lyle’s 30th Masters Tournament, the Scot looks back over three decades at Augusta National.
Sandy Lyle’s unforgettable seven iron from the fairway bunker to win the Green Jacket in 1988 ensured his place in Masters Tournament folklore but the Scot will create another piece of history next week when he becomes the first European to make 30 appearances at Augusta National.
The 53 year old made his Masters debut in 1980 and has only missed the season’s first Major Championship twice since – in 1982 and 1984.
He has been an ever-present at Augusta National since 1985 and is only the 17th player to reach the milestone of 30 appearances, having graced the hallow fairways one more time than fellow former European champion Seve Ballesteros and twice more than Bernhard Langer, whose thumb injury has ruled him out of a 29th appearance.
While he is unlikely to equal the overall playing appearance record set by South African Gary Player, who has featured in 52 Masters Tournaments, Lyle feels he will see the white sands of Augusta several more times before he draws the curtain on his illustrious career.
“For a European playing in 30 Masters Tournaments is some record,” said the two-time Major Champion. “And I think I’ve still got quite a few left in me. I think I could get to maybe 36 or 40 times and still be reasonably competitive when I’m 60, depending on my health.
“This is my 30th year but it only seems like 15 really. The course has kicked my butt many, many times and I’ve felt very disappointed with it, but it has also been very rewarding.
“It is a privilege to be on that course and the past champions are always very well looked after. The Champions Dinner on the Tuesday is always very special. If anyone has ever said they hated going back to the Masters as a champion they are lying.
“The Masters has grown with the times but also kept with traditions. They’ve shuffled and tweaked the golf course to make it a challenge and it is a great golfing spectacle. Everyone in the golfing world keeps that week in their life to either be there or watch it on TV. Everyone wants to see the white sands of Augusta.”
Lyle will head to Georgia with a new vigour this year, buoyed by his first tournament victory since 1992 in the recent ISPS Handa Senior Masters presented by Mission Hills China, which extended his lead at the top of the 2011 European Senior Tour Order of Merit.
After rolling back the decades with a vintage performance in the 2009 Masters Tournament, finishing tied 20th, and again last year when he opened with a majestic 69, Lyle is confident he can once again remind the golfing world of his undoubted talent on one of the greatest stages of all.
“I feel good about the Masters coming up and it’s nice to come off the back of a win,” he said. “I’ve had some pretty good times at Augusta over the last three or four years so there are some good scores in there yet.
“Augusta is a course I feel fairly comfortable on. I’ve got the game and the length. It’s just about getting the consistency. The way the game has been shaping up recently, I think I can do well and my confidence is riding high.
“If I can do what I did in China – go along nicely and pick up the odd birdie and chip and putt well and hole some good par putts - who knows, you could be in contention going into the last day.”
Becoming the first Briton to adorn the Green Jacket in 1988 remains to this day one of the greatest moments of Lyle’s life but his first visit to Augusta National eight years previous will also always have a place in his heart.
“My first Masters was special,” he recalled. “I played in the Greater Greensboro Open the week before and it was one of only a few times my parents made it out for both Greensboro and the Masters, another being when I won them both 1988.
“It was a great family spectacle for me to have them there and for them to see Augusta. It was great for my father to see Augusta which he had only seen on the television. It’s like a sacred ground really.
“My first attempt was pretty good for a young one – finishing 48th. For some reason I’ve struggled to make the cut there though. I usually have a bad first round – either 74 or 75 - and it really puts you under pressure to make the cut. I’ve not really had a whole bunch of top tens and been in contention. I’ve only really been in contention that once but I pulled it off.
“Augusta has never let me down as far as the feel good factor. It still to this day gives me a great thrill when you get there, when you get on that practice range. It is a very fine golf tournament, very well run and with very special memories.”
Tomorrow: Lyle looks back on the bunker shot that changed his life
