Sandy Lyle will aim to make history by becoming one of 16 golfers to earn an Open Championship berth from the 278 players who made the tee in Tuesday’s final qualifier at four different venues.
If Lyle, 64, can make it through the 36-hole shootout, he will break Gary Player’s 45-year record for longest gap between first and last appearance in the British major. Lyle made his Open debut when he was 16 years old in 1974, marking another 48-year milestone.
Lyle played the most recent of his 43 Opens in 2018 at Carnoustie, the year his exemption as champion of 1985 ran out.
Everyone, including Lyle, believed it would be for the Scot as far as the Claret Jug is concerned, but he’s been lured back by The Open to celebrate a special anniversary and the identity of the Lancashire venue when he chose to take his chance .
“It’s the 150th Open and it would be great to play in that historic event,” Lyle said. “When I qualified as a wide-eyed teenager in ’74, I did so at St Anne’s Old Links and there I will again give my best, almost half a century later.
“I’m not quite fit, I got a hamstring, but I’m about 75 percent and I’m going to try. What do I have to lose? This is my last chance at The Open.”
Lyle’s work has been cut while other, younger Ryder Cuppers such as Andy Sullivan and Oliver Wilson are on the hunt for a spot at the Home of Golf; as well as recent DP World Tour winners such as Aaron Rai and Marcus Armitage. But dreams are often made in FQ and to emphasize golf’s unique ability to pit the generations against each other, 15 year old Sean Keeling is also active in the St Anne’s field.
The Dublin schoolboy is a member of the Made in Holywood Academy, involving Rory McIlroy’s coach Michael Bannon. Keeling already has a great reputation, which only grew as he shot a seven-under-65 to win his regional qualifier.