Lyle and Woosnam: Two old rookies ready for some fun

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PALM COAST, Fla. -- Sandy Lyle sat down next to Ian Woosnam and offered a proper, gentlemanly greeting to his new Champions Tour mate.

"Hello, you old fart."

Woosnam was quick with his retort.

"Hello, older fart."

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Ian Woosnam wants to stop and smell the flowers on the Tour. And, if he gets tired, he can always use a cart.

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Lyle is older but only by a month. Both former Masters champions recently turned 50 -- Lyle on Feb. 9, Woosnam on March 2 -- and joined the Champions Tour.

The Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach will be Woosnam's first week on Tour, while Lyle has one tournament under his belt after tying for 54th in his debut at the Toshiba Classic.

So the "veteran" Lyle, who won his Green Jacket in 1988, took a few minutes to explain the many benefits of the Tour to Woosnam.

"It [feels] a lot more pleasant and lower key," Lyle said. At the same time, he added, the people may be friendly, but the competition is still fierce.

Woosnam is aware that his game, although "reasonably good" at the moment, will have to stand up to some difficult tests. He's been watching GOLF CHANNEL, seen the level of competition out on Tour and observed that the golf courses aren't as short or easy as some might be led to believe.

For instance, the FedEx Kinko's Classic will take place in Austin, Texas, later this season. Woosnam plans to head to the Lone Star State, where it's awfully windy, to play in that event.

Lyle joked that the 5-foot-5 Woosnam shouldn't have a problem in gusty weather. "Ian has never had trouble playing in the wind," he joked. "Low center of gravity."

All kidding aside, Woosnam is actually getting over a year-long struggle with chronic fatigue syndrome, which made the two-time PGA TOUR champion tired, achy and reluctant to walk around a golf course.

"I feel like I'm just coming out of that now," said the 1991 Masters champ. "I'm feeling a lot better and a lot stronger. I haven't played a lot of golf, been practicing a little bit down in Barbados for the last couple of months trying to stay injury free."

Still, his recent time off means the newest Champions Tour rookie will probably be experiencing butterflies when he tees off in the first round at 9:40 a.m. on Friday with Fuzzy Zoeller and Graham Marsh.

"When I stand on the tee on Friday morning, I'm going to feel nervous, no doubt about it," said Woosnam, who won 28 times on the European Tour and 14 more times worldwide. "This is a golf course that you feel like you've got to play very well. You know, I've got to accept I'm going to hit bad shots and try to do the best that I can."

Woosnam hopes to play in at least 20 events this year but, because of his illness, plans to listen to his body when it comes to scheduling. If he starts getting tired, he's going to take a few weeks off. The wee Welshman plans to make Barbados his base of operations.

Woosnam and Lyle, who hails from Shrewbury, England, grew up 20 miles from each other and have been friends since they were 12 years old. That means lots of golf together -- including as teammates in the Ryder Cup where Woosnam played eight straight and Lyle five.

When Woosnam was named captain of the European Team in 2006, he chose Lyle as one of his assistant captains for what was a lopsided victory at The K Club in Dublin, Ireland. Now Lyle is being mentioned as a candidate for a Ryder Cup captaincy, as well.

Given their history, the two were naturals to pair together for next month's Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf. This marks the first year that the tournament will be played wholly as a team event and the duo are prepared to take on the course in Savannah, Ga.

"We have to come out quick and make lots of birdies, and that's the type of game we play. We're aggressive but sharp to the game as well. I think we'll get around there," Lyle said.

"We know each other's games very well so it's going to be fun playing with each other again," Woosnam added. "As I said, we haven't played with each other for about five or six years so it's going to be fun, and I'm looking forward to it."

Then, for the second time on Wednesday, Lyle didn't miss an opportunity to rib his fellow competitor.

"And if he's struggling, we'll put [him] in a cart and he'll be all right," Lyle joked.

Woosnam, expects that his time on the Champions Tour will be more than all right. After traveling the world to play golf for 30 years, he plans to relax, sign autographs and see the sights more this time around.

"When you get to 50, this is the sort of golf you want to play, enjoyable, have a bit of fun," he said. "It's not the end of the world if you don't play well, and it's like coming out and seeing your old friends again. It's just nice. It's like being on vacation, really, when you try to win a few dollars at the same time."