BACK on his old stomping ground, 20 years after becoming the only Scot to win the Masters, Sandy Lyle marked the anniversary of his greatest triumph by spending most of the opening day around the top of the first round leaderboard.
Competing with fortitude and skill, Lyle confronted the full ferocity of what's become one of American golf's most challenging tests yesterday with an echo of his golden age. The two time major winner eventually finished at one under par.
Until
his concentration wavered over the closing holes – he dropped shots at the 15th and 16th – Lyle seemed determined to write a variation on the Cinderella story. He wanted to go to the ball and was a remarkable three under after 14 holes, just a shot behind Justin Rose. Whether or not tiredness caused his concentration to waver, Lyle began to falter over the closing stretch. Now a regular on the Champions Tour, the 50-year-old came to Augusta feeling better prepared to give a decent account of himself than he had done in years. His performances in the company of the game's senior competitors have improved week by week and he's become accustomed again to putting in a week's work and finishing on Sunday evening.
There were no celebrations here this week to mark that 20th anniversary as Lyle set himself a target of reprising last year's accomplishment in making the cut. By the time the Scot reached the turn in 34, two under par, that goal began to look like the minimum he might achieve if he could remain focused.
Lyle loves Augusta National. He was smitten from the moment he walked through the gates with his parents as an aspiring twentysomething in 1980. That's not to say, of course, he agrees with all the changes implemented at a once welcoming golf course which has been transformed since the Scot won here in 1988.
By his own admission, Lyle was never the straightest driver of the ball. And at the Augusta of old, like St Andrews, the penalty for missing a fairway was far less punitive than at many other championship venues. Now, however, ten years of growing short rough, the introduction of a tree planting programme which narrowed the fairways and all those extra yards from the new tees have turned Augusta into a course for strategists rather than magicians.
"They've taken away a lot of choices," he volunteers. "Before, there was always a little cherry dangling. For instance, on the first hole it was 265 yards over the bunker, so you looked at the wind, at the pin position, and decided whether to go for it. If it came off you got your reward. Now it's 320 yards to carry that bunker, and it's scary. So I think they've spoilt the course a little bit and, although it doesn't necessarily play into the hands of the long hitters – no one would describe Zach Johnson, last year's winner, as long – it means fewer guys can be competitive out here."
Certainly, this has become a punishing course for the old timers. Fuzzy Zoeller, 56, carded 81 and Gary Player,73, finished with 83. Lyle, though, is still blessed with considerable power and launched his drive on the first past playing partner John Rollins. Lyle's approach finished ten feet above the hole and he was a little unlucky when the quick birdie putt lipped out.
The Scot could have no complaints on the par 5 second hole when he hit a vicious cut with a rescue club which finished in the middle of the third fairway. After his recovery shot spun back into the front bunker, Lyle was probably fortunate to escape on level terms.
His birdie 3 at the third was well crafted and there were cheers when the Scot holed another birdie effort on the fifth. If even his compatriots in the gallery feared that the bogey on the seventh would mark an inexorable decline over the rest of the round, the resilient Lyle immediately bounced back with another birdie on the eighth.
Loose shots were a rare commodity on the front nine, but the pulled long iron into the trees to the left of the tenth green was a big error. Facing a chip from the pine needles between a couple of trees to a raised putting surface – the saving grace was he had plenty of green to work with – Lyle pulled off an astonishing recovery shot. His lob wedge from 20 yards was beautifully judged and only narrowly missed the cup for birdie.
Augusta is full of pitfalls and Lyle dropped a shot on the par 5 15th when he needed two putts for 6.
When he then took 4 on the short 16th, Lyle slipped out of the top ten.
The full article contains 811 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
