Lyle quits after 'meltdown'

The 50-year-old was 11 over par after 10 holes, closing the outward half with two double-bogeys and a triple in his last three holes before the turn.

"It is not very nice when you are only an hour and a half, two hours into the Open and you have basically chucked it," he said.

"I don't make a habit of it. I did it back in 1991 when I didn't realise I was out of bounds until I got down there, but I was way over the cut line and so I said I wasn't going back for the sake of finishing the hole.

"This is the only course I have walked off twice, which is not good."

In wet and windy conditions, scoring was high throughout the field and despite beginning with a bogey Lyle was just one over after three holes.

His troubles started at the fourth where he hit is tee shot 20 yards right of the fairway into an unplayable lie, took a penalty drop and made a good bogey-five.

Three successive bogeys followed before the strokes started to mount up, including at the eighth where his third to the 457-yard par four bounced on top of playing partner Graeme Storm's ball and ricocheted 30 yards through the green.

"For the first few holes I wasn't too bad and then the rain came and got my timing. I got out of position and I couldn't make a golf swing," said the 1988 Masters champion. "It was very poor golf, and if you don't get the ball in the right place a few times there are not many opportunities for birdies.

"I was all over the place. I lost momentum, I couldn't really hit the ball hardly at all and it was total meltdown to be honest."