Former Ryder Cup player Barry Lane dies aged 62 as golf pays tribute to ‘sweetest guy’ | Golf | Sport

Former Ryder Cup player and European Tour stalwart Barry Lane has passed away at the age of 62. Lane was a five-time winner on the European Tour, including a memorable victory at the 1988 Scottish Open.

The field that year included greats of the game such as Sandy Lyle, Colin Montgomerie, Fred Couples and Jose Maria Olazabal among others. He’s ranked fourth on the all-time appearance list on the European Tour with 693 starts.

Only Sam Torrance, David Howell and Miguel Angel Jimenez made more appearances than Lane on the European Tour. Lane was also successful on the Legends Tour, winning eight times with his last title coming at the 2019 MCB Tour Championship in Madagascar.

The English golfer was heralded as one of the most popular players among his peers and news of his death sparked an outpouring of tributes on social media. “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Barry Lane,” said European Tour group chief executive Keith Pelley.

“To have seen such a level of success across both the European Tour and the now Legends Tour shows his dedication to the game of golf and he was a much-loved figure on both tours. The renaming of the Legends Tour’s Rookie of the Year trophy in his honour is a fitting tribute, and I’m delighted he had the opportunity to present it in December.”

Paul McGinley tweeted: “RIP barry – sweetest guy to the very end and coming all the way to Mauritius a few weeks ago, despite very ill health, to say goodbye to all his Tour family says a lot to his bravery & to the close kinship & friendships we all form on Tour.”