Lyle Wins for First Time in Nearly Two Decades


It's been a long time since Sandy Lyle stepped into the winner's circle. But that's just what the two-time major champion from Scotland did on Sunday after capturing the ISPS Handa Senior World Championship at Mission Hills in Shenzhen, China.

The 53-year-old had gone without a victory since the 1992 Volvo Masters on the European Tour. Lyle, who won the 1985 British Open and 1988 Masters while at the peak of his career, carded rounds of 68, 66 and 70 to finish at 12-under 204 in the 54-hole Senior European Tour event and beat Australia's Peter Fowler by three strokes.

"You wonder after about four or five years whether you'll ever win again, let alone nearly 20." Lyle said.

"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.

"This victory is very sweet as it's obviously been such a long time," added the five-time European Ryder Cup member. "I said a couple of years ago that I'd be happy just to win a par-3 contest - it had been that long."