Shropshire golf legend Sandy Lyle insists he pulled out after only 10 holes of last week’s Open Championship because of a hand injury – not a lack of heart.

The Shrewsbury-born big hitter was roundly criticised by the R&A, among others, for quitting when he was 11 over par in dreadful conditions at Royal Birkdale.

Initially Lyle gave the distinct impression that he had chosen to walk off because he saw little point in continuing, given his score at the time.

But the 50-year-old, who lines up alongside fellow former Open champions Tom Watson and Greg Norman in the Senior Open at Royal Troon today, with his son Stuart caddying for him, insisted that he feared doing further damage to a long-term injury.

Lyle said: “It’s not something I would like to do on a regular basis, but I’ve had sore hands and knuckles for a couple of years now.

“I have been playing most of this year pain-free but in the cold weather, which you don’t really expect in July around Birkdale, a couple of skanky shots didn’t help at all.

“I was playing with almost numb knuckles on my left hand and I couldn’t really continue. I was suffering too much from the weather so I decided to make an executive decision to make short haste towards the clubhouse.

“I regret it a little bit, but I’ve spoken to (R&A chief executive) Peter Dawson and it’s all right with him. I also wrote him a letter.

Criticism

And Lyle confessed that if his father, Alex, the late teaching professional at Hawkstone Park, had still been alive, he would have taken a dim view of the Scot’s decision to walk out.

His behaviour drew widespread criticism. Mark Roe, the former Tour professional, branded the past Open champion’s decision as a disgrace. Peter Dawson, the chief executive of the Royal and Ancient, was also unimpressed.

And the big Scot conceded his dad would have had a few words to say on the subject if he’d still been alive.

“I suppose in the first round of the Open, a big name like myself, anything about myself is going to be big news,” he reflected.

“It will be headlines which will go around the world within minutes. I know if my old man was alive, he wouldn’t be too happy about it. But he would say ‘you have your reasons’ and I did have my reasons at the time.”