Sandy Lyle can still remember the first time. The 2023 Masters is likely to be the last time. Lyle created a little piece of history at Augusta National this week, having teed up in a major for the 100th time. He thereby becomes the first golfer from Scotland to achieve that not inconsequential feat. Not that the 64-year-old was aware of his milestone. “Nobody has ever mentioned that to me,” he said. “Does it make me feel better? Yes, a little bit. Something to tell the grandkids in years to come.” Lyle’s mood had been influenced by another missed Masters cut. “It’s not easy when you are making bogey after bogey,” he conceded.
The 1988 champion last survived for the weekend in Georgia in 2014, with his latest halfway exit coming after rounds of 82 and 76. These are not embarrassing scores – Augusta, already a tricky venue, is especially formidable this year – but Lyle’s scenario lends itself to the narrative of when enough becomes enough for invitees. Unlike in other majors, winners of the Masters are entitled to play for as long as they so choose.
Golfers have egos but falling victim to a 36-hole battering – especially at a course you could once conquer – cannot be much fun. Lyle admits he is close to the end. “I think next year might be the end of the Lyle attack on this golf course,” he said. “My oldest son is coming out with a few of his buddies, my youngest son is coming out. So it will be full family and the end.
“You know yourself when it is time to stop. Fuzzy [Zoeller] put his hand up at the Tuesday night [champions] dinner and said ‘I’d just like to let everybody know, I’m going to retire.’ Tommy Aaron and Charles Coody went on a bit longer when maybe they shouldn’t have, but that was their choice. I am still reasonably strong, nearly 6ft tall and can get the ball out there reasonable distances when I put my mind to it. I can still putt half-decently and my nerve is still there. So there is always a little hope about making the cut and making a challenge for the top 20 or something.”
Strangely, Lyle’s 1988 triumph marks his only top 10 at the Masters in now 41 attempts. Because of the compilation of this major’s field and the status bestowed on past champions, he is not blocking anyone else from participating by entering the draw. The basic problem is, the lengthening of Augusta National gives such an advantage to younger, more powerful golfers than Lyle and his contemporaries. Lyle used the example of hitting a six-iron for his approach shot in to the par four 17th as his playing partner, the amateur Stewart Hagestad, pulled a wedge from his bag.
Bernhard Langer, who defied his age here for so long, missed a second cut in succession which suggests the Masters may have become an insurmountable challenge for him as well. Ian Woosnam, also 64, has been in Augusta this week to attend the champions dinner but declared in 2021last year that he had played in his final Masters. Woosnam has been troubled by back problems.
“It’s unfortunate we had so much heavy rain on Tuesday and Wednesday,” Lyle said. “That doesn’t help. They have sand-based fairways to encourage speed, Fred Ridley told us that on Tuesday night [at the champions dinner].
“The ball would then run and be faster. With all the rain, it didn’t do that at all. It would have made a difference of 30-40 yards to me. My ball is running 15ft if you are lucky so that makes it hard. But I’m not 21 any more. Clubhead speed has gone down a lot in the last five to 10 years.
“Today was a lot tidier than yesterday. In the first round I took seven at the 12th and double bogeyed the 17th after chipping into a bunker from about 50 yards. That was six shots gone in two holes, otherwise it would have been a respectable score. It’s a bit of a struggle when you aren’t hitting it far enough but today gives me a little hope for the upcoming months on the Champions Tour.”
Not that this is an exact science based on date of birth. Thomas Pieters and Justin Rose were among those to also miss the cut. Louis Oosthuizen, due to play in the company of Tiger Woods once more, withdrew before his second round tee time because of injury. Oosthuizen had shot 76 on day one.
For Lyle, this proved a useful time for reflection. His involvement in majors – he was to win two of them – began thousands of miles away in 1974. “I was a 16-year-old playing in the Open Championship ay Lytham,” he said.
“There were two cuts that week, which was unusual. I made the first with flying colours then missed the second after getting stuck in a bunker on a par five. My heart was coming out of my chest for the opening tee shot, thinking: ‘My God, I hope this is going to get easier.’ Trying to control those nerves is not easy when you are 16 but gradually you get used to it and deal with it. Nobody doesn’t go through those panic stations. It was a memorable start to a career of golf.”
It seems fair to remember the good times. Lyle’s fairway bunker shot to the 18th on that Sunday in 1988 serves as an iconic Masters moment. He now knows the end is nigh; which makes him no less of a competitor. Time waits for no man in this domain.
