He is the only player from his country ever to win The Masters and he’s now been inducted into the golf Hall of Fame

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It takes some doing to win The Masters but to be the only man in your country to have the honour of winning it is quite the achievement in itself.

The Masters is often regarded as the be-all and end-all for golfers and those who have won a green jacket are often mentioned among the best to ever do it.

The likes of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo will forever be etched in history, in part due to their achievements at Augusta National.

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However, while those three – and others – are brilliant golfers who have done their countries proud over the years, they still don’t hold the moniker of being the only player from said country to win it.

Indeed, when it comes to that honour and being a player from the home of golf in Scotland, there is only one man who holds such an esteemed honour.

How Sandy Lyle became the only Scottish golfer to win The Masters

When you think of the great Scottish golfers, one is automatically drawn to the talent of a certain Colin Montgomerie.

However, while Montgomerie dominated European golf, he never got his hands on a major championship.

Instead, the only man from Scotland to do just that was a certain Sandy Lyle.

Now 67, Sandy Lyle was one of the big names of golf in the 80s and early 90s and after winning The Open in 1985, he set his sights on getting another major across the pond.

Indeed, it took Lyle just another three years to get it, as he won the 1988 Masters ahead of Mark Calcavecchia to become the very first Scottish golfer to don the green jacket.

Indeed, since that win, nobody has managed to do the same and Lyle still stands alone as the only golfer to ever win The Masters. On its own, it is some achievement, and one Lyle will look back on with great fondness.

In fact, Lyle was so good, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012, while still an active player. He eventually called time on his major quests in 2018, after a stunning run of consecutive appearances.

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The best Scottish golfers of all time

Being considered the home of golf, naturally we’d expect some top players to come from the Scottish isles.

However, while we’ve had some great players over the years, none have matched Sandy Lyle in terms of winning a Masters.

Sure, players have won majors, with the likes of Paul Lawrie among the more modern names to win one, while legends of the sport like Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris are winners as well.

Players like Sam Torrance are regarded among the best ever to come from Scotland, while in the modern game, it’s Robert MacIntyre who is flying the flag.

However, until someone dons that green jacket, it will be Sandy Lyle who remains synonymous with Scottish golfing success.