SANDY Lyle revealed he will celebrate the 30th anniversary of his Masters triumph in 2018 by calling it quits at Augusta National.
Lyle, 58, says the Georgia golfing gem is simply getting too tough for him after he missed this year’s cut with scores of 76 and 81 for a 13-over-par tally.
It was Lyle’s 35th Augusta appearance since making his debut in 1980, and playing alongside Bernd Wiesberger of Austria, a player 28 years his junior, who sent drives well past the Scot, didn’t add to his Masters pleasure.
“The problem for me now is that Augusta is getting a bit long,” he said. “Playing with the young ones here opens your eyes in terms of how far they hit the ball these days.
“At the last on Friday, I was hitting a three-iron for my second shot whereas Bernd probably had something like an eight-iron in there, and I’m no slouch.
“I still feel I hit the ball long enough and I actually hit the ball nicely this week. I just didn’t hole any putts and also had a couple of bad holes.
“At the ninth in the second round, for instance, I made a seven from 130 flipping yards in the middle of the fairway. It took me three chip shots to get it on the green from just below the putting surface and you end up with a 7, just like that.
“Right now I think I’ll have two years more left at the most. It would be nice to go out on a high and hopefully I can make the cut again.
“I’ve got some Champions Tour events coming up but my main frustration on that is that I’ve not played nearly as well as I know I can,” he said. “My putting has been diabolical. That’s what is killing me half the time as I am starting to hit the ball quite nicely. I need to try and get something to happen on the greens as I’m getting cheesed off finishing 45th to 50th all the time.”
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