OBE is icing on the cake at the end of my career, says golfer Sandy Lyle
The golfer was one of a number of Scots being recognised at an investiture ceremony at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
Scottish golfer Sandy Lyle has said being made an OBE is the “icing on the cake” at the end of a decades-long career.
Lyle was recognised for services to Scottish golf at an investiture ceremony at the Palace of Holyrood House on Tuesday.
He was one of a number of Scots receiving honours from the Princess Royal in Edinburgh.
The 67-year-old achieved golfing stardom in the 1980s by winning two of golf’s coveted major championships.
He won the Open in 1985 followed by the US Masters in 1988, when he became the first Briton to wear the famous green jacket.
The Shrewsbury-born golfer, who opted to represent Scotland when he turned professional in 1977, went on to amass a total of 30 professional wins in tournaments around the world.
Speaking to the PA news agency after receiving the accolade, he said: “It feels really good, and to be part of a team of people who have been honoured today, and to have been part of it, is really special.”
He added: “It’s just part of the icing on the cake of the end of your career to be recognised for what I’ve done.
“I’ve done books and things like that and when you start going through all your history you get quite a buzz after about a two-hour session.
“And this is like one of these things that gives you a buzz, to be recognised for what I’ve done in golf over the years.”
He added with a smile: “Many, many years, unfortunately.”
Scots Paralympian Nathan Macqueen was also at the ceremony to be made an MBE for services to archery.
The former rugby player was paralysed from the waist down following a motorcycle accident when he was just 18.
After trying power lifting and wheelchair basketball, he settled on archery, and went on to win a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Speaking after the ceremony, the Dumfries-born athlete said it felt “special”.
“It felt really, really special. I didn’t ever think I would get an MBE, so to come here and bring my granny is just amazing,” he said.
Macqueen said receiving the honour was “definitely up there” among his greatest achievements, adding: “I have my son as well, so he’s probably ‘tippy-top’ but it’s definitely up there. It is just such an honour.”
He said his family, who were with him at the ceremony, were “almost in tears”, and more emotional than when he won Paralympic gold.
He added that his 91-year-old gran Rita Macqueen was particularly happy to be at the ceremony as she is “quite the royalist”.
“She’s just chuffed. Proud as punch”, he said.
Asked how she felt about her grandson being made an MBE, Ms Macqueen said: “So glad that I was able to live to see it, because I’m 91.
“It was really tremendous that I was able to go to Paris and see him getting his gold medal.
“And this is such an honour”.
