MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 8, 2023

Sandy Lyle

Quick Quotes

Q. We'll start with that finish right there. Being able to experience this with Larry.

SANDY LYLE: Yeah, I obviously know what's going through his mind and it was just a part of a, just a welcome, and also to a new era, I suppose, for the both of us. I just think it was the right thing to do. The wives suggested it and I thought about it and said, yeah, I'm going to go back out there and welcome him to a new era.

Q. Sum up how you feel now after going all through that with Larry and yourself.

SANDY LYLE: Cold right now. (Laughing.) Can't believe how it can change so quick. It's amazing. But, yeah, it's part of many, many years of playing competitive golf since I was about 15 or 16 years old and it's come to an end. I'm sure Gary Player and Nicklaus and a few others have all gone through the same system, and Mr. Watson and that lot. I knew my time was coming up pretty soon the last few years. And you can tell by the scores that the course is killing me out there. So I went out this year with a little bit of hope because I was working hard on the game to get some sort of game together. But it's a grinding machine out there at the moment with the length for older players.

Maybe in time they will have another little tournament going on within the Masters tournament for the over 60. You never know. Play off the front tees. It would be entertaining.

Q. Touching your heart and blowing kisses, that's not something that's sort of normal for you.

SANDY LYLE: I think it was the right thing to do, wasn't it, to say something back to the patrons. They have been very good, very knowledgeable of the game of golf. A lot of 'em have been coming here for many, many years. I've probably been a few miserable times that I come off the 18th and I want to go and bang my head into a wall somewhere. But other times it's been great. They have been very supportive. And more noticeable probably yesterday they all stood up coming up the 18th and Jason Kokrak stood by the green and clapped for me all the way from there. So they're nice memories and I'm going away with, going home with a good feeling.

Q. How close were you, do you think, to being able to putt to finish last night?

SANDY LYLE: Oh, seconds. Seconds. We were just basically lining our putts up and I was going to be the last to putt, because the other two have got to finish. Talor Gooch had like a two and a half-footer for a bogey and he had to wait as well. We tried to talk to the official that, you know, please, let us finish. But, no, they stuck to the rules and rules are rules and we had to abide by that.

Q. How did you spend last night?

SANDY LYLE: A lot of tequila and a bit of whiskey tasting at about 1 o'clock this morning.

Q. Tell us a bit about the putter, Sandy.

SANDY LYLE: The replica putter is an idea that Ping came up with and they reproduced the model of putter I used in '88, which is a Ping Pal, and they obviously reserved one for me. And I didn't realize it was going to be a gold-ish one. So we thought it would be nice to use it on the last hole from a, whatever, 10, 12 feet. And I had it presented to me by my caddy and the old royal, here's the sword, wipe the blood off, that kind of thing. But it didn't hole a putt though. Lousy putt. But it was just a nice moment to use a putter that I used many many years ago.

Q. Were you aware that everyone was trying to rush to come to see you this morning?

SANDY LYLE: Yeah, we saw them sort of stacking up there by the scoreboard and I thought, any minute now there's going to be a stampede. But, yeah, it would have been nice if probably a few more minutes and I could have, the crowd could have given me a good sendoff.

Q. How long was your putt last night?

SANDY LYLE: About 12 feet. Probably 10, 12 feet. Yeah, 10 feet more than likely, yeah.

Q. What club did you take out of the bag to put that one in?

SANDY LYLE: Which one?

Q. Which clubs did you take out of the morning?

SANDY LYLE: Took out the 4-iron and the 3-iron. Mostly two rescue clubs. Because they can fly the ball higher in the air, which I need to on the fast greens. So, yeah, I've always criticized a few of them over the years and, Oh, you've got a rescue club, have you? Another rescue club? And now I'm doing it myself.

Q. The putter you used out there was it the original?

SANDY LYLE: No, it wasn't the original, it was a Ping Pal. And Ping have reproduced the Ping Pal for people who are collectors or whatever it is. And I've got one which has got the actually C on it, which is champion 1988 on the side of the putter. It's a nicely-made putter. I mean, yeah.

Q. And it was gold?

SANDY LYLE: It looks like gold, doesn't it.

Q. What will you do with that putter now?

SANDY LYLE: Oh, it will go back into the trophy cabinet I think back home in Scotland.

Q. It's hit two shots?

SANDY LYLE: It's hit two putts, yes.

Q. When you were on 18 tee yesterday Jason gave you the honor to hit. What did you think of that?

SANDY LYLE: That was a nice touch. I would say the boys, you know, not from my era, they're only in their 30s. But they were very good. Well knowledgeable. They said, well, we'll give you the honor up the 18th, which was quite nice. And you feel a bit blah at the time. I was hoping I can hit the damn fairway, because my drive at 17 was not worth mentioning about, I tell you. It went along the driver. So I kind of semi topped it or skulled it trying to get the ball up to get the carry and I must have stayed behind it too much and caught it off the bottom of the club. So it wasn't very pretty.

But at least the one on the 18th, I teed it a bit higher this time and got away with it.