Sandy Lyle quit this year's Open just ten holes into his opening round at Royal Birkdale as the wind and rain took its toll."It's probably my shortest Open ever. I got off to a pretty miserable start," the 1985 Open champion told the BBC. "I've played in heavier rain but the course is so demanding and the rough is so heavy in the wet that if you get out of position it's just so hard."
It was Lyle's 33rd Open and he had endured a torrid few holes as he dropped seven shots in just three holes to make the turn in 45. However, after a par at 10 he opted to call it a day.
"Around the third or fourth I hit a couple of shots which rattled my fingers and (they) went a little numb," he added. "I just couldn't score and I couldn't swing the golf club in the end. I just thought I was doing myself more harm than good.
"For me, with the glasses and waterproofs, I couldn't get any momentum going at all so I thought I was best to call it a day.
"This is the only course I have walked off twice (the other time being at the 1991 Open), which is not good."
However, his decision to quit has certainly caused controversy with some pundits believing it is unacceptable behaviour and claiming it may affect affect the Scot's future aspirations of being a Ryder Cup captain.
