1985: The greatest sporting year

I've been putting this off for years. But the recent Live Aid nostalgia has pushed me over the edge. We've all had the debate in the pub about the greatest sporting year - no, just me then? - so I'm here to argue the case for 1985. After forty years, it is time to tell 1985 that I'm crazy for you.

There are of course many factors involved in your chosen favourite sporting year. Allegiance matters. Therefore, Manchester United winning a treble, Europe collapsing in the Ryder Cup, and Australia winning two World Cups means I don't want to party like it's 1999. Yet pushing all this irrational stuff to one side, there can be no doubting the credentials of 1985.

1985 Open Championship: Sandy Lyle

Saturday July 12, 1969: as Tony Jacklin celebrates winning the Open Championship, he hurls his ball into the grandstand at Royal Lytham and St Annes. An 11-year-old boy called Alexander Walter Barr Lyle sits in the grandstand as Jacklin's ball flies towards him.

"It landed just a few feet from me," Lyle would later reveal. "It was at that moment that I decided I wanted to play professional golf, play in the Open - and one day win it." 16 years later, the task of ending Britain's drought in their own championship would land at the feet of Sandy Lyle.

1980s Ryder Cup selection snubs

The wildcard selections of Ryder Cup captains during the recent history of the event has often provided the odd talking point or twelve. From the moment the decision is announced, all of us have an opinion on the matter. Sometimes, even those who have missed out, can’t resist airing their view. Just ask 2018 European captain Thomas Bjorn.

Dad and Masters Sunday

As a golf fan, there are not many occasions that compare to Masters Sunday. There are a number of aspects that make it what it is: the beautiful Augusta National course; the first major of the season; a signal of winter turning to spring in Britain; and the fact that when I was a child, that I could stay up and watch the drama unfold with my dad.

1987: Players Championship

Jeff Sluman looked set to win the 1987 Players Championship in a play-off against Sandy Lyle, before a drunk spectator plunged into the sporting hall of shame.

It should have been a moment in the spotlight for Jeff Sluman. After seven years as a professional, the 29-year-old stood over a putt on the notorious 17th hole at Sawgrass to claim not just his first tournament on the PGA Tour, but the prestigious Players Championship, an event that despite being relatively new, had such a strong field that some had already dubbed it as the fifth major.

SPOTY: Unlucky losers in the 1980s

There were many great winners of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) award in the 1980s, but also a few sporting figures who never had their names engraved on the shields housed on the famous old trophy.

This week I am taking a look back at some of the unlucky SPOTY losers, including a couple of snooker stars, a Grand Slam winning captain, and a golden boot winner who would probably be a cert for the SPOTY trophy in the current age.

1980s Open Championships

This week I am taking a look back on the Open Championships of the 1980s. A decade that was initially dominated by Tom Watson, saw Britain enjoy success, involved the joy of Seve, and witnessed record attendances, and high and low scores. Plus a few dodgy number ones....

1989: The decline of Sandy Lyle

February 1989: the start of Sandy Lyle's season on the US tour has continued where he left off in 1988. Two second-place finishes and another in third gives the impression that all is well with Lyle's game, and that he is set for another prosperous year on both sides of the Atlantic. Whether he can repeat his marvellous feats of 1988 is questionable, after all Lyle won the Greater Greensboro Open and then the US Masters, as well as the Dunhill Masters and World Matchplay in a never to be forgotten year. But the early signs are promising.

Fast forward just six months. Lyle is unrecognisable from the man who was ranked world number two and sat third in the US PGA money list. In a relatively short space of time, Lyle's game has dissolved completely, so much so that when Tony Jacklin offers him a place on Europe's Ryder Cup team, Lyle has no other option but to turn it down. How did it come to this?

1988: Suntory World Matchplay

Come the end of the 1980s, British wins at the World Matchplay golf were very much like buses. After a 23 year drought, Ian Woosnam had finally ended the British wait for a winner of the autumnal tournament played at Wentworth, by winning the 1987 event, and in 1988 another Brit was about to see his name join an illustrious set of winners such as Palmer, Nicklaus, Player, Ballesteros and Norman. For Sandy Lyle, his win at the 1988 World Matchplay capped off a fine year, and put an end to his frustration in the tournament.

1988 US Masters: Sandy Lyle

European golf was certainly in rude health during the 1980s, a fact reflected in one major tournament in particular; the US Masters. From Seve Ballesteros' victory in 1980 through to Nick Faldo's win in 1989, the green jacket sat on the shoulders of a European golfer five times, as the Augusta National became a home from home for the continent's finest players. By the time of the 1988 tournament, Ballesteros had won the tournament twice - and should and could have won again in 1986 and 1987 - and Bernhard Langer's first major in 1985 was the ideal start to a year in which Europe won back the Ryder Cup after a 28-year hiatus. Despite this success, there was one thing was missing for British golf fans, namely a first winner from the home nations. Step forward Sandy Lyle.

1987: Suntory World Matchplay

If you've ever taken the time to read any of my past blogs, you may be of the opinion that this particular blogger doesn't particularly like much about sport in the 21st century. This couldn't be further from the truth. Admittedly I am an child of the eighties, and I will bang on for hours about anything and everything about sport in this decade (as you may be aware), but give me a decent sporting event now and I am still as absorbed and transfixed as I was in my younger days. One example of this is the WGC Match Play Championship in Arizona. The top players in the world of golf, going head-to-head in a form of the game that I have always loved, makes compelling viewing in my opinion, and starts to give me the urge to get back out on the course after weeks of bottling it due to the wintry conditions in England.