Lyle targets Ryder Cup after Louth lease of life
In fact, he hasn’t dismissed the prospect of playing at The K-Club in 2006! The former Masters and Open champion said as much at Baltray yesterday after shooting a five under par 67 in the first round of the Nissan Irish Open.
He admitted: “My ambition, with some good performances in the Masters and the Open, was to maybe get close to the Ryder Cup. I only have a couple of more chances, this year and two years hence. I am looking for a win now, this week or whenever. I am playing like I used to and not thinking about technique as much. The swing is allowing me to play the way I want.
“When I am thinking of a fade or a cut, it is the trigger for a pull shot and it is not much fun. Now I think fade and it comes off.”
Lyle goes on to relate how, contrary to most professional advice, it was by quickening rather than slowing his swing that he discovered this new confidence. The “wisdom” was imparted by an individual who isn’t even a golf pro, one Noel Blundell, an Australian sports psychologist with whom he worked in the early ’90s.
“He is clued up on the golf swing,” Lyle said. “Like in tennis, you want to see fluidity and speed. They say keep it smooth but actually making it quicker has helped a lot. I thought my swing was fast enough but he said no, keep going. I was swinging like Lanny Wadkins, it was so quick. Then the ball striking and direction got better and that’s what I’m looking for. Touch wood, it’s all falling into place.”
That seemed to be the case yesterday when he shot a five under par, highlighted by a run of three birdies from his 9th (Baltray’s par five 18th), 10th and 11th followed by an eagle at the next, but marred by a bogey at his 17th, where he found “a horrible lie and couldn’t get the ball on the green from 100 yards. I had three bogeys, one was a three putt, but other than that the putter was pretty good.”
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