It has been a long time coming, but victory for Sandy Lyle in the ISPS Handa Senior World Championship at Mission Hills, China, was all the sweeter for it.
Incredibly, Lyle had not won a tournament since claiming the Volvo Masters in 1992. For a player of his pedigree, such a drought is beyond belief. But the Scot has had his troubles during that period, losing his game completely after a series of swing changes he felt compelled to make after winning The Open in 1985 and The Masters in 1988.
It is often forgotten that Lyle beat Nick Faldo to victory in both championships but while the Englishman went on to great things, Lyle spent years in the wilderness.
He brought his barren run to an end with a final-round 70 over the tough World Cup Course at Mission Hills to finish on a 12-under-par 204, three strokes clear of Australian Peter Fowler.
“You wonder after about four or five years whether you’ll ever win again let alone nearly 20, so this is very special,” said the 53 year old. “I joined the Senior Tour and it didn’t happen as quickly as I expected it to, so you do have doubts. My trophy cabinet has been gathering dust over the years so I feel relieved to get a win and it’s even better that it’s here in China on this course. This answers a lot of questions I had about myself.”
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The five-time Ryder Cup player began the final round with a two-shot advantage and never looked like relinquishing it despite Fowler’s challenge, which ran out of steam over the last two holes. Lyle birdied the second hole before picking up another shot on the sixth hole and while Fowler moved within one shot of him with a birdie on the 16th, the Australian then bogeyed the 17th to restore Lyle’s cushion.
Par on the closing hole, where he had dropped his only shot of the tournament in the second round, against another bogey by Fowler was enough to give Lyle a victory that he admitted was one of the most meaningful in his 34-year professional career.
“This victory is very sweet as it’s obviously been such a long time,” said Lyle. “I said a couple of years ago that I’d be happy just to win a par three contest - it had been that long. I showed a lot of patience this week. I only made one bogey in three rounds which is way beyond my norm. Usually, I’d make at least four or five but I was very consistent.
“I drove the ball well which is important on a course like this. My iron play wasn’t actually that hot today but I kept it reasonably close. Peter played well and put the pressure on when he got to one shot but he found the rough on 17th and although he recovered really well he missed a six-footer for par which gave me a two-shot lead again going down the last which really helped.
“I wouldn’t say it was easy today and I certainly didn’t run away with it but it was a lot nicer going to the 18th with a two-shot lead rather than a one-shot lead when you’ve not won for so long.”
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Lyle had given warning of an impending return to the winners’ enclosure when he started the 2011 season by finishing runner-up in the Australian Senior Open and tied fifth in the Handa Cup Senior Masters in Japan to lead the European Senior Tour Order of Merit.
He extended his advantage at the top to £51,783 after collecting the £37,484 first prize in China. Fowler’s second place was his best finish on the Senior Tour after an injury-hit two years. Paraguay’s Angel Franco was third on seven under par.