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ABU DHABI – Throughout the week, players, caddies and officials at the DP World Tour HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi wore black ribbons in memory of the late Barry Lane. It’s a touching tribute that will continue in Sunday’s final round at Yas Links and will be repeated next week at the Dubai Desert Classic. The popular Briton died aged 62 in December after a brief illness.
Ryan played for Europe against the U.S. in the 1993 Ryder Cup, where he lost all three matches. During his 40-year career, he made 693 starts – fourth most on the European Tour at the time. He is also an eight-time winner on the Legends Tour, equivalent to a European PGA Tour winner.
Renowned for the sheer quality of his shots, Lane was a popular name and face on the Old World circuit, as evidenced by the flurry of emotional messages that have flooded social media since his death. Former Masters champion Ian Woosnam summed up his feelings on Twitter: “Very, very sad news of Barry Lane’s passing today. RIP my friend.”
Perhaps Lane’s most famous victory on tour was the 1988 Scottish Open at Gleneagles, when he forced then-Masters champion Sandy Lyle to second. More than three decades later, Lane added the Scottish Senior Open title to his already impressive resume. Between 1992 and 1995 he was ranked no lower than 11th in the European Order of Merit (now the Dubai Competition).
Additionally, Lane won the inaugural Andersen Consulting World Golf Championships in 1995, the predecessor to the WGC-Match Play event, now held annually in Austin, Texas. He received his first check for $1 million after beating South Africa’s David Frost in the final. Ryan also represented England in the Dunhill Cup four times and the World Cup twice.
Happily, albeit sadly, Ryan and his wife Camilla traveled to Mauritius last November for the Legends Tour season-ending MCB Tour Championship. There, though clearly very frail, he was able to say goodbye to his friends and contemporaries and present the Rookie of the Year trophy, renamed in his honor, to Brazil’s Adilson da Silva.
In a statement last month, DP World Tour CEO Keith Paley paid tribute to Ryan’s golf and his character.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of Barry Lane’s passing,” Paley said. “Having been so successful on both the European Tour and now the Legends Tour shows his dedication to the game of golf and he is a much-loved figure on both tours. The Legends Tour is being renamed in his honor The Rookie of the Year trophy is a fitting tribute, and I’m delighted he had the opportunity to present it in December.”
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