Sir Nick Faldo and Sandy Lyle become honorary members of The Royal and Ancient

Sir Nick Faldo MBE and Sandy Lyle MBE have accepted invitations to become honorary members of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

Two of Britain’s finest ever golfers, Faldo and Lyle inspired a generation of players with their wins in The Open Championship and the Masters Tournament and were at the forefront of a new wave of European golfers who rose to prominence in the 1980’s.

They join fellow Open Champions Peter Thomson CBE, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Roberto de Vicenzo, Tony Jacklin CBE, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson in becoming honorary members.

Sir Nick said, “St Andrews frames many of my most treasured memories in golf including those of my second Open win 25 years ago. I am honoured to receive this invitation and look forward to celebrating nearly 40 years as a professional at the home of golf in July.”

“I am delighted to receive this recognition,” said Sandy. “It was a lifetime ambition for me to win The Open and I will never forget how it felt to lift the Claret Jug. Golf has given me a great deal over the years and I feel privileged to have been invited to become part of this great Club.”

George Macgregor OBE, the Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club, said, “Sir Nick Faldo and Sandy Lyle have enjoyed long and successful careers and are wonderful ambassadors for golf around the world. They were instrumental in leading the resurgence of British golf and have undoubtedly been role models for subsequent generations of golfers. We are extremely pleased that they have accepted invitations to become honorary members of the Club.”

Faldo is a six-time Major Champion. He will play in his last Open this year on the 25th anniversary of his win at St Andrews as he celebrates his 58th birthday. He also won The Open at Muirfield in both 1987 and 1992 and finished in the top ten in the Championship on ten occasions between 1978 and 2003. He won the Masters Tournament on three occasions.

Faldo is the all-time leading points-scorer in Ryder Cup history, having played in 11 European Ryder Cup teams before captaining the team in 2008. In addition to his Major wins, Faldo won 24 European Tour events and led the money list in 1983 and 1992. He also won three events on the PGA Tour.

Lyle will this year celebrate the 30th anniversary of becoming Champion Golfer of the Year at Royal St George’s. He went on to win the Masters Tournament three years later. Lyle won a further four events on the PGA Tour, including the 1987 Players Championship, and 16 events on the European Tour.

The 57-year-old led the European Tour Order of Merit in 1979, 1980 and 1985 and represented Europe in the Ryder Cup on five occasions. He now plays on the European Senior Tour and the Champions Tour and won the ISPS Handa Senior World Championship in 2011.