SANDY LYLE returned to the scene of his most infamous moment in golf and revealed he only walked off the course during the Open due to a nerve problem that was only properly diagnosed five years ago. The 1985 champion drew heavy criticism after withdrawing after just 10 holes of the 2008 event at Royal Birkdale after struggling in the poor conditions.

The perception at the time was that Lyle had simply not fancied it given he was already 11 over in his opening round. Returning to the same venue, though, for what will likely be his second-last ever Open appearance, the 59 year-old insisted it was actually a long-standing finger problem that meant he couldn’t continue that year.

He recalled: “I was 11 over after nine holes, was having an ugly time and couldn’t feel my right hand. And it was only 8.30 in the morning, if that. I made a decision that it wasn’t worth carrying on and irritating my hand any more, meaning I couldn’t have played the following week in my first Senor Open. I’ve played in terrible conditions before and since. So it wasn’t that. I thought it was arthritis. I even had X-rays done. But it was the nerve ends that run in between two of my fingers that caused the problem. I found out what caused it in the end.

“The cold weather didn’t help but I’d been struggling with it for a while, without making any fuss about it. It was sore and tender before I even practised. Even shaking hands was painful. I discovered the root of the problem about five years ago.We did a few drills and it’s not an issue now.”