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Sandy Lyle

Scotland · born , Shrewsbury, England

2major championships

Summary

  • First major 1985 The Open
  • Last major 1988 The Masters
  • Ryder Cup 5 Cups · 7-9-2 · 8 points (44.4%)

Wins

  1. 1985 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · 282 (+2) · by 1 stroke from Payne Stewart
  2. 1988 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 281 (-7) · by 1 stroke from Mark Calcavecchia

Near misses

  1. 1982 The Open Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · finished T8 · 287 (-1)
  2. 1988 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished T7 · 283 (-1)

Ryder Cup

5 Cups, 18 matches: 7 won, 9 lost, 2 halved, 8 points. Foursomes 3-3-1, four-ball 3-2-1, singles 1-4-0.

  1. 1979 The Greenbrier (Greenbrier Course) Europe · USA won 17–11 · 1-2-1, 1.5 points · automatic
  2. 1981 Walton Heath Golf Club Europe · USA won 18.5–9.5 · 2-3-0, 2 points · automatic
  3. 1983 PGA National Golf Club Europe · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 0-2-0, 0 points · automatic
  4. 1985 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · Europe won 16.5–11.5 · 1-1-1, 1.5 points · automatic
  5. 1987 Muirfield Village Golf Club Europe · Europe won 15–13 · 3-1-0, 3 points · captain's pick

Rivals

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Mark James' rivals →

Moments

  1. 1985 Open Christy O'Connor Jr opened with a 64, including seven birdies in a row from the 4th, which broke Henry Cotton's 1935 course record.
  2. 1985 Open At the 72nd hole, Lyle's approach ran into Duncan's Hollow and his first chip rolled back to his feet. He got up and down for a bogey 5 and still won: the first British winner since 1969 and the first over-par winning total since 1968.
  3. 1988 Masters Lyle hit a 7-iron from the fairway bunker on the 72nd hole to about 10 feet and holed the birdie putt to win by one.
  4. 1988 Masters Lyle became the first British golfer, and the first Scot, to win the Masters.

Records and firsts

  1. 1988 Masters First Masters champion from: Scotland

Results by championship

    Best day

    1988 Masters

    Augusta National Golf Club · 281 (-7) · by 1 stroke from Mark Calcavecchia

    Lyle hit a 7-iron from the fairway bunker on the 72nd hole to about 10 feet and holed the birdie putt to win by one.

    Lyle became the first British golfer, and the first Scot, to win the Masters.

    Record: Scotland

    Chosen by rule: the major win our record tables single out. Year page: 1988.

    Career line, 1979–1988

    Masters
    1988 Masters: won
    The Open
    1982 The Open: finished T81985 The Open: won1988 The Open: finished T7
    Ryder Cup
    1979 Ryder Cup (Europe): 1-2-11981 Ryder Cup (Europe): 2-3-01983 Ryder Cup (Europe): 0-2-01985 Ryder Cup (Europe): 1-1-11987 Ryder Cup (Europe): 3-1-0
    19801985

    9 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, GB / Europe

    Sandy Lyle was born on February 9, 1958, in Shrewsbury, England. Lyle won 2 major championships: 1 Masters (1988) and 1 Open Championship (1985). Lyle played in 5 Ryder Cups for Europe (1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987), winning 7, losing 9 and halving 2 of 18 matches for 8 points.

    See Sandy Lyle in our rooms: The Masters, The Open and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (2)

    1. 1985 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · 282 (+2) · by 1 stroke from Payne Stewart
    2. 1988 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 281 (-7) · by 1 stroke from Mark Calcavecchia

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1982 The Open Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · finished T8 · 287 (-1)
    2. 1988 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished T7 · 283 (-1)

    Ryder Cup

    Lyle played 5 Ryder Cups for Europe: 18 matches, 7 won, 9 lost, 2 halved, 8 points (44.4% of those available). By format: foursomes 3-3-1, four-ball 3-2-1, singles 1-4-0 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1979 The Greenbrier (Greenbrier Course) Europe · USA won 17–11 · 1-2-1, 1.5 points · automatic
    2. 1981 Walton Heath Golf Club Europe · USA won 18.5–9.5 · 2-3-0, 2 points · automatic
    3. 1983 PGA National Golf Club Europe · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 0-2-0, 0 points · automatic
    4. 1985 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · Europe won 16.5–11.5 · 1-1-1, 1.5 points · automatic
    5. 1987 Muirfield Village Golf Club Europe · Europe won 15–13 · 3-1-0, 3 points · captain's pick

    Partners, with matches played together: Mark James (4), Bernhard Langer (4), Tony Jacklin (3), Bernard Gallacher (1), Ken Brown (1).

    Masters Champions Dinner

    1989, as the 1988 champion

    1. Starter / appetizer Jumbo lump crabmeat cocktail; haggis (piped in) — Lyle: "Thank God it wasn't the main course"
    2. Main course Broiled pompano
    3. Sides Neeps and tatties
    Jumbo lump crabmeat cocktail; haggis (sheep innards); neeps and tatties (mashed potatoes and mashed turnips); broiled pompano

    Confidence: Confirmed. Menu status: Full. Haggis was piped in on a silver tray, then cut open with a dagger. Aaron: "the only one of the Champions Dinners that I couldn't eat"; Mize skipped it.

    Records and firsts

    Rows from our record tables that name this player, worded as the tables word them.

    1. 1988 Masters First Masters champion from: Scotland

    Sources

    Elsewhere: Wikipedia.

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

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    5. golfcompendium.com: us open winners
    6. golfcompendium.com: pga championship winners
    7. golfcompendium.com: british open winners
    8. golfcompendium.com: most wins in major championships golf
    9. golfcompendium.com: european tour most wins
    10. pga.com: tiger woods masters ultimate guide
    11. WP: List of European Ryder Cup golfers
    12. R&A 1985
    13. GC 1985
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    15. golfcompendium.com: 1988 masters tournament
    16. nbcsports.com: by the numbers jumpsuit numbers for every masters champions caddie
    17. todays-golfer.com: how the masters prize money has changed over the years
    18. golf.com: masters purse masters winners payouts alltime
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    20. pgatour.com: what is the cut at the masters tournament augusta national (archived copy; the original link no longer works)
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    23. R&A 1982
    24. R&A 1988
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    29. GC: 1983 ryder cup
    30. Wikipedia: 1983 Ryder Cup
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    32. Wikipedia: 1985 Ryder Cup
    33. GC: 1987 ryder cup
    34. Wikipedia: 1987 Ryder Cup
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    36. vault.si.com: the supper club the most exclusive spot in the game a place at the tab
    37. amp.cnn.com: golf masters champions dinner haggis
    38. golfwrx.com: danny willetts masters champions dinner choices plus some of the fines