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Mark Lye

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Mark Lye
Personal information
Full nameMark Ryan Lye
Born (1952-11-13) November 13, 1952 (age 72)
Vallejo, California
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight195 lb (88 kg; 13.9 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceNaples, Florida
Career
CollegeSan Jose State University
Turned professional1975
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
PGA Tour of Australia
Professional wins2
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
PGA Tour of Australasia1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT6: 1984
PGA ChampionshipT36: 1986
U.S. OpenT13: 1989
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 1977

Mark Ryan Lye (born November 13, 1952) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.

Early life

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Lye was born in Vallejo, California.

Amateur career

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Lye attended San Jose State University, where he was a three-time All-American on the golf team. He graduated in 1975.

Professional career

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In 1975, Lye turned pro. Early in his career, he played in Australia. Lye won the PGA Tour of Australia's 1976 Colgate Champion of Champions by one stroke over New Zealand's Simon Owen and two over Australia's Kel Nagle. Lye did not even expect to stay in Australia after he failed to qualify for that year's Australian Open. A friend encouraged him to remain and play in the Melbourne event. After a 70-71 start, he was three under, six shots behind Nagle. Lye then shot 68-67 to defeat a field that included, in addition to Owen and Nagle, 1975 U.S. Open champion Lou Graham, 1975 Open Championship winner Tom Watson, and recent Australian Tour champion Greg Norman.[1] Lye went on to win the 1976 PGA Tour of Australia Order of Merit.

Lye joined the PGA Tour in 1977. He was a full-time member of tour from 1977 to 1991.[2] In 1980 he finished 39th on the money list,[3] with two runner-up finishes.[2] Three years later, in 1983, he recorded his only victory on the PGA Tour, at the Bank of Boston Classic. Lye was eight shots behind in a tie for 16th when the round started. He did not hold even a share of the lead until the 69th hole of the tournament. He birdied three of the final four holes for a 64 (−7) to win by one shot.[4] Later in the fall, at the last event of the season, he had a runner-up finish at the Pensacola Open. He had six top-10s in total for 1983, his most ever,[2] and finished 28th on the money list, his best ever.[5]

Lye's win qualified him for the 1984 Masters Tournament. He shot first round 69 (−3) and then surged to a three shot lead after a 66. He fell back a little after a third round 73 but was still in second place, one behind Tom Kite. He had a final round of 74, finishing T-6, his best finish in a major championship. Lye had an additional four top-10s in 1984 and finished 43rd on the money list.[6]

In 1995, at the age of 43, Lye tore a ligament in his right hand at the FedEx St. Jude Classic and retired from the tour. He then began working as an analyst for The Golf Channel, eventually rising to lead analyst for men's tournament coverage. After reaching the age of 50 in November 2002, Lye joined the Champions Tour as a part-time player. His best finish on that tour was a solo 9th at the 2004 Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn.[2] To compete in select Champions Tour events, Lye transitioned to being an on-course reporter.

In August 2015, Lye was hired as one of the cohosts of "The Scorecard," a pregame show for Saturday and Sunday rounds of every broadcast PGA Tour event, on Sirius XM.[7] He was fired in February 2022 after making negative on-air comments about women's sports.[8]

Personal life

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Lye plays guitar, in particular blues guitar,[9] and has played with a member of Eric Clapton's band.[10] Late in his career he formed Jake Trout and the Flounders, a cover band with fellow professional golfers Payne Stewart and Peter Jacobsen.[11]

Lye is diabetic and has had additional health issues.[10] Lye has battled malignant melanoma. He first discovered a dime-sized mole on his left knee in 1991 and had surgery to remove it. He was cancer free for more than five years; however, in 2002, a small growth on his left thigh was discovered. He had surgery and other aggressive treatments for this recurrence and remains under a doctor's care.[2] Influenced by his cancer diagnosis he became a born-again Christian.[12]

Lye lives in Naples, Florida. He and his wife Lisa have two children, Lucas and Eva.[13]

Awards and honors

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Lye was inducted into the California Golf Writers Hall of Fame in February 2007.[14]

Professional wins (2)

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PGA Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 Sep 11, 1983 Bank of Boston Classic −11 (69-69-71-64=273) 1 stroke United States John Mahaffey, United States Sammy Rachels,
United States Jim Thorpe

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 Nov 14, 1976 Colgate Champion of Champions −12 (71-70-68-67=276) 1 stroke New Zealand Simon Owen

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament T6 T36
U.S. Open T25 69 CUT T45 CUT T36 T13
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT T56 T67 T63 T54 T47 T36
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Masters Tournament T39
U.S. Open CUT CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship WD
  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Stone, Peter (November 15, 1976). "Lye Downs Them". The Age. p. 36.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Mark Lye – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  3. ^ "Money List – 1980". PGA Tour.
  4. ^ "Lye Makes up 8 Shots for First Victory". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 12, 1983. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  5. ^ "Money List – 1983". PGA Tour.
  6. ^ "Money List – 1984". PGA Tour.
  7. ^ "Mark Lye to Debut New SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio Show". SiriusXM. August 13, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  8. ^ Beall, Joe (February 7, 2022). "Former PGA Tour player fired after sexist comments on tour's radio station". Golf Digest. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  9. ^ Moffit, David (April 13, 1984). "Mark Lye was so excited he was having trouble..." UPI. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Jenkins, Dan (April 23, 1984). "A Breakthrough For The Heartbreak Kid". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  11. ^ "Meet The Rock & Roll Stars Of Golf". CBS News. April 22, 1998. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  12. ^ Roach, David (December 24, 2003). "New Birth: Battling cancer, professional golfer finds true success in Christ". Baptist Press. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  13. ^ "At Home With Mark and Lisa Lye". Fine Magazine. September 4, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  14. ^ "Biographical information from The Golf Channel's On Air Talent page". Golf Channel.
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