Early life

Lyle was born in Shrewsbury, England and now lives in Scotland with his wife Jolande and children Lonneke and Quintin. He represented Scotland during his professional career. He was introduced to golf by his father, Alex, who had taken the family from Scotland to England in 1955 when he became resident professional at Hawkstone Park golf course. Their family home was just 40 yards from the pro-shop and 18th green. He began playing with miniature clubs at the age of 3. At schoolboy, junior and amateur level Lyle represented Scotland. As an amateur Lyle made his debut in The Open Championship at age 16 in 1974, and won the Brabazon Trophy in 1975 and 1977. He was a member of the Walker Cup team for both 1975 and 1977.

Turns professional

In 1977 he turned professional and made the decision to represent Scotland. He was medalist at the 1977 Qualifying School tournament for the European Tour. His first professional win came in the 1978 Nigerian Open, and he also won the Sir Henry Cotton Award as European Rookie of the Year that season. Lyle attained the first of an eventual 18 European Tour titles in 1979.

Lyle partnered with Sam Torrance for Scotland to finish runner-up at the World Cup of Golf team event in both 1979 and 1980; in the latter year Lyle captured the low individual trophy in that event.

Wins major championships, Ryder Cup success

Lyle showed his quality by winning The Open Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club in 1985. He was the first British winner since Tony Jacklin in 1969, and continued the rise of European golfers in the world scene.

Lyle was a member of five European Ryder Cup teams, from 1979 to 1987 inclusive. Highlights from those years included the team that was victorious at the Belfry in the autumn of 1985, and the 1987 team which won for the first time ever on American soil, at Muirfield Village.

For many golf fans he is best known for the bunker shot at the 18th hole in the final round of the Masters in 1988 when he became the first Briton to wear the green jacket. He also won two other events on the PGA Tour that season, along with the World Match Play Championship, after being a losing finalist on several occasions.

Lyle topped the European Tour's order of merit in 1979, 1980 and 1985. He finished in the top ten nine times between 1979 and 1992. He was also a member of the PGA Tour for several years and finished seventh on the US money list in 1988, despite a limited playing schedule. He won the 1987 Tournament Players Championship, one of the most prestigious American titles. Lyle's form dropped after 1992, when he was 34, and he has not won a significant event since.

Legacy

As a player, Lyle is known for his cool temperament and placid exterior. In his peak years, he was very long from the tee and through the set, and had enough accuracy to master any course. His achievements inspired fellow rivals such as Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam to raise their games, and go on to win the majors. Lyle published his first book, "To the Fairway Born" in 2006. In the same year he was assistant captain to Ian Woosnam when Europe won the Ryder Cup. He had been hoping to be picked as the captain for the 2010 European Ryder Cup team but missed out to Colin Montgomerie.

In July 2009, Lyle got into a very public row with Colin Montgomerie where he unfavourably compared Montgomerie's actions at the Indonesian Open four years previously with his own actions in not completing a round at the 2008 Open Championship. Reaction to this was mixed with some players supporting Lyle while other players and commentators felt that Lyle's timing was unfortunate and that any point he may have had was lost in the ensuing controversy.

Seniors career

On turning 50 in 2008, Lyle played on the Champions Tour and the European Seniors Tour.

Lyle won his first tournament in 19 years when he captured his first European Seniors Tour title at the 2011 ISPS Handa Senior World Championship, held in China.

Amateur wins

• 1975 Brabazon Trophy, English Boys Amateur Stroke-Play Championship (Carris Trophy)
• 1977 Brabazon Trophy, British Youths Open Amateur Championship

Professional wins (29)

European Tour wins (18)

Legend

Major championships (2)

Other European Tour (16)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	3 Jun 1979	B.A./Avis Open	−13 (66-71-66-68=271)	3 strokes	Howard Clark
2	8 Jul 1979	Scandinavian Enterprise Open	−12 (73-69-65-69=276)	3 strokes	Seve Ballesteros
3	9 Sep 1979	European Open Championship	−9 (71-67-72-65=275)	7 strokes	Dale Hayes, Peter Townsend
4	29 Jun 1980	Coral Welsh Classic	−11 (72-69-67-69=277)	5 strokes	Martin Foster
5	10 May 1981	Paco Rabanne Open de France	−14 (70-66-67-67=270)	4 strokes	Bernhard Langer
6	7 Jun 1981	Lawrence Batley International	−4 (70-70-69-71=280)	2 strokes	Nick Faldo
7	25 Jul 1982	Lawrence Batley International	−15 (70-66-67-66=269)	2 strokes	Manuel Piñero
8	24 Apr 1983	Cepsa Madrid Open	−3 (70-69-76-70=285)	2 strokes	Gordon J Brand
9	6 May 1984	Italian Open	−11 (71-70-68-68=277)	4 strokes	Bobby Clampett
10	7 Oct 1984	Lancome Trophy	−10 (74-70-67-67=278)	Playoff	Seve Ballesteros
11	21 Jul 1985	The Open Championship	+2 (68-71-73-70=282)	1 stroke	Payne Stewart
12	18 Aug 1985	Benson & Hedges International Open	−14 (70-69-71-64=274)	1 stroke	Ian Woosnam
13	11 Oct 1987	German Masters	−10 (72-69-70-66=278)	Playoff	Bernhard Langer
14	10 Apr 1988	Masters Tournament	−7 (71-67-72-71=281)	1 stroke	Mark Calcavecchia
15	5 Jun 1988	Dunhill British Masters	−15 (66-68-68-71=273)	2 strokes	Nick Faldo, Mark McNulty
16	13 Oct 1991	BMW International Open	−20 (65-65-71-67=268)	3 strokes	Tony Johnstone
17	3 May 1992	Lancia Martini Italian Open	−18 (66-71-65-68=270)	1 stroke	Colin Montgomerie
18	1 Nov 1992	Volvo Masters	+3 (72-70-72-73=287)	Playoff	Colin Montgomerie

PGA Tour wins (6)

Legend

Major championships (2)

Other PGA Tour (4)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	21 Jul 1985	The Open Championship	+2 (68-71-73-70=282)	1 stroke	Payne Stewart
2	6 Apr 1986	Greater Greensboro Open	−13 (68-64-73-70=275)	2 strokes	Andy Bean
3	29 Mar 1987	Tournament Players Championship	−14 (67-71-66-70=274)	Playoff	Jeff Sluman
4	31 Jan 1988	Phoenix Open	−15 (68-68-68-65=269)	Playoff	Fred Couples
5	3 Apr 1988	KMart Greater Greensboro Open	−17 (68-63-68-72=271)	Playoff	Ken Green
6	10 Apr 1988	Masters Tournament	−7 (71-67-72-71=281)	1 stroke	Mark Calcavecchia

PGA Tour playoff record (3-1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1987	Tournament Players Championship	Jeff Sluman	Won with par on third extra hole
2	1988	Phoenix Open	Fred Couples	Won with bogey on third extra hole
3	1988	KMart Greater Greensboro Open	Ken Green	Won with birdie on first extra hole
4	1989	Bob Hope Chrysler Classic	Paul Azinger, Steve Jones	Jones won with birdie on first extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

• 1984 Casio World Open

Other wins (5)

• 1978 Nigerian Open
• 1979 Scottish Professional Championship
• 1980 World Cup of Golf (individual trophy)
• 1984 Kapalua International (Hawaii - unofficial PGA Tour event)
• 1988 Suntory World Match Play Championship (United Kingdom - not then a European Tour event)

European Seniors Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	13 Mar 2011	ISPS Handa Senior World Championship	−12 (68-66-70=204)	3 strokes	Peter Fowler

Major championships

Wins (2)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1985	The Open Championship	3 shot deficit	+2 (68-71-73-70=282)	1 stroke	Payne Stewart
1988	Masters Tournament	2 shot lead	−7 (71-67-72-71=281)	1 stroke	Mark Calcavecchia

Results timeline

Tournament	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	DNP	DNP	CUT	CUT	T19
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	48	T28	DNP	CUT	DNP	T25	T11	T17	1	CUT
U.S. Open	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T45	T36	T25	CUT
The Open Championship	T12	T14	T8	CUT	T14	1	T30	T17	T7	T46
PGA Championship	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	T37	T21	T38	CUT	CUT	T34	CUT	T48
U.S. Open	CUT	T16	T51	T52	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	T16	DQ	T12	CUT	74	T79	T56	CUT	T19	CUT
PGA Championship	DNP	T16	CUT	T56	T73	T39	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	T37	CUT	CUT	43	45	T20
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	T69	T76	CUT	73	T32	CUT	T65	WD	CUT
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	CUT	T54	T44	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	CUT	CUT	84	CUT	CUT
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half way cut
DQ = disqualified
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	1	0	0	1	1	6	35	17
U.S. Open	0	0	0	0	0	2	10	6
The Open Championship	1	0	0	1	3	11	40	22
PGA Championship	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	4
Totals	2	0	0	2	4	20	91	49

• Most consecutive cuts made - 12 (1984 Open Championship - 1988 Open Championship)
• Longest streak of top-10s - 1 (four times)

Team appearances

Amateur

• Walker Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1977

Professional

• Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985 (winners), 1987 (winners)
• World Cup (representing Scotland): 1979, 1980 (individual winner), 1987
• Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1980 (winners), 1982 (winners), (representing Scotland) 1984 (individual winner)
• Dunhill Cup (representing Scotland): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992
• Nissan Cup: 1985, 1986
• Kirin Cup: 1987

[ Source: Wikipedia ]