Rob Robertson
Where were you when Sandy Lyle did his jig of delight after holing his final 10-foot putt to win the 1988 Masters?
I was in my top-floor flat in Glasgow, punching the air in celebration.
Some of you may not even have born when one of the greatest moments in Scottish sport occurred.
Lyle, who is now 66 and retired from the game, was joined in that year’s Masters field by his fellow Scotsman Ken Brown who tied for 36th place.
Two Scots in the Masters – one of them winning – was something to be proud of, especially when you consider that for the first time since 1984 there is not a single Scot in this year’s field.
The home of golf has no divine right to always have someone at Augusta but not to have any representation for the first time in 40 years is an embarrassment.
It can’t be put down as just a blip because last year Scotland’s only representative was Lyle, who only got in as a past champion.
Through the years we have had the likes of Lyle, Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie, Stephen Gallacher, Martin Laird and Bob Macintyre taking part.
The best we have this year are two Hearts-supporting Scottish caddies. Stuart Davidson is on the bag for Australian Min Woo Lee with Stuart Beck carrying the clubs for Poland’s Adrian Meronck.
Macintyre, who played at Augusta
‘Hopefully Bob will be back at Augusta this time next year
two years ago, is Scotland’s best hope of making an impact on the world stage and hopefully this time next year he’ll be back trying to work out how to best play Amen Corner.
When he made his Masters debut in 2021 he finished a creditable 12th after finishing at two-under par in the event won by Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.
The following year the man from Oban finished on three-over-par and tied for 23rd. He didn’t make it last year and as he is now ranked 80th in the world he never came close to qualifying for the current competition.
The next generation of Scottish golfers need all the help they can get and with that in mind Paul Lawrie and Stephen Gallacher, through their respective foundations, are doing great work in helping up and coming stars.
Scottish Golf are doing their best to allow youngsters to get the best possible start and help them fall in love with the game before the cream of the crop inevitably head to the college circuit in the US where only the strong survive.
There is young talent in the pipeline with Cameron Mukherjee of Loretto School, who is still under 16 and plays out of Gullane, performing well in the Scottish Boys (Under-18) Open Championship that ended at Irvine Golf Club on Friday evening. He finished fourth in the tournament, four behind the winner Louka Morin of France.
It’s been disheartening not having Scottish representation to watch in action over the last few days at Augusta but things can only get better in the rest of the Majors.
Next up is May’s US PGA at Valhalla, the US Open at Pinehurst in June then The Open at Royal Troon in July. Let’s hope a few Scots play and even better, mount a challenge.