Sandy Lyle broke his first club at his final appearance at the Masters and joked: "And it wasn't even over my knee."
The 1988 champion suffered a shocking start to his penultimate round here when he blocked his opening drive into trees – and then snapped his 8-iron on a root hitting a left-handed shot which struck another branch and a cameraman. Lyle, 65, still scrambled a bogey on his way to nine-over par 81 in his 42nd appearance here.
The Scot said: "It's the first one I've broken here. Taken 40 years to do it, but it's happened. First hole, and it wasn't even over my knee! I nearly always pulled it off the 1st hole, and this time I actually hit the other shape.
"So the brain got in the way, blocked it to the right. I had a four-inch bough of a tree that comes down from somewhere, and my ball was sitting right underneath it. I got just about enough ball before I get the tree.
"I thought: 'If I can get the left-handed 8-iron to it, not full whack, but just a short, stubby bang'. Timed it perfectly and obviously hit the bough. I hit a cameraman somewhere about 15 yards away, and dropped down still in trouble. I made a helluva five, really."
Lyle failed to make a birdie and carded seven bogeys and a double bogey at No.12 after sending his tee shot into the bushes.
"Some of the quality of golf was pretty substandard, which didn't help matters," he said.
"Making the cut has gone. That is totally gone. I've just got to try to maybe even shoot a 72 just to see if the game's not too bad and give it a go. And at least don't get in the way of the two people I'm playing with."
