The University of St Andrews will give honorary degrees to golfing legends Sir Bob Charles, Sandy Lyle, Catriona Matthew, Jose Maria Olazabal and Lee Trevino as part of the celebrations for the 150th Open at the Old Course in July.
As the Courier revealed in January, golf’s most decorated champion Jack Nicklaus will be made an Honorary Citizen of the Royal Burgh of St Andrews.
Nicklaus won three Open Championships among his record 18 major titles. Two of the three Open wins were at the Old Course at St Andrews, in 1970 and 1978. He bowed out of major championship golf at the Open at St Andrews in 2005.
The public ceremony for all honorees will be held in Younger Hall in North Street on the Tuesday of Open week, July 12, at 1pm.
It is the same venue as the famous and evocative ceremony in 1958 for the last golfing great to be made a Freeman of the Burgh, the late Bobby Jones.
Five Doctors of Laws
The other five honorees will receive degrees of Doctor of Laws. They follow in the recent tradition of the University marking each visit of the championship to St Andrews.
Sir Bob was Open champion in 1963 at Royal Lytham and St Annes. He was the first New Zealander and the first left-hander to win a major championship. He was knighted in 1999 and elevated to the Order of New Zealand in 2011.
Trevino was twice the Open champion, in 1971 and 1972. Texas-born of Mexican heritage, he rose from his modest background to win six major titles in all. Trevino was and remains one of golf’s best loved winners and ebullient characters.
Sandy Lyle was the first Scottish Open champion since Tommy Armour in 1931 when he won at Sandwich in 1985. Born in Shrewsbury to Scottish parents, he has always represented Scotland as a player in international competition.
Lyle became the first Briton to win the Masters in 1988 and played in five Ryder Cups. He was also the first European to win the prestigious Players Championship.
‘Beany’ Scotland’s greatest female golfer
Catriona Matthew is Scotland’s most successful female player. A native of North Berwick – where she still lives – she had a glittering amateur career before turning professional in 1995.
She won the Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2009, just 11 weeks after the birth of her second daughter.
Matthew – known affectionately as ‘Beany’ to all in golf – is also unique at having played on and captained winning teams both home and away in the Solheim Cup for Europe.
She played for Europe nine times in that competition. She was a last-minute reserve in 2017 for injury when she was due to be a vice-captain.
Matthew was elevated to the captaincy and led Europe to victory on home ground at Gleneagles in 2019 and last year at Inverness CC in Ohio.
Jose Maria Olazabal is one of the most figures in world golf. He won two Masters titles, in 1994 and 1999, coming back from career-threatening injury to win his second Green Jacket.
Olazabal is also identified closely with the Ryder Cup, with seven appearances as a player. His famous partnership with the great Severiano Ballesteros the most successful in the tournament’s history.
The Spaniard was captain of Europe in 2012 at the great ‘Miracle of Medinah’, when Europe came from five points behind to win on the final day.
The ceremony honouring the players is open to the public and is free, but admission will be by ticket only. Tickets can be obtained by emailing golfgraduation@st-andrews.ac.uk
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