Sandy Lyle's ambitions to be the next captain of the Europe Ryder Cup team were washed away the moment he stalked off the 10th green at Royal Birkdale early yesterday. The 1985 Open winner shocked spectators as he handed his putter to Jeff Willett, his caddie, and walked back to the clubhouse through the rain.

Lyle was greeted by officials of the Royal and Ancient Club of St Andrews and told to hand in his scorecard, even though he had not completed his first round of the championship. The Scot, who was 11 over par when he quit, handed in the scorecard, but he must have known then that his actions could cost him the respect of the professionals who would be asked to elect him to the coveted position of Ryder Cup captain, if his name had been added to the list of contenders to lead the Europe team in 2010 at Celtic Manor in Newport, South Wales.

Peter Dawson, the R&A chief executive, led the criticism when he said that professional golfers should always complete their round. “He was obviously having a bad day,” he said. “It was disappointing. But I wonder what he would have thought if the starter went home at lunchtime and could not register his score.”

Lyle, 50, was unrepentant and said that he had quit because he could not keep warm in the cutting winds or see properly in the driving rain because he wears spectacles. “It was just constant rain all the time,” Lyle said. “It was difficult keeping my hands dry and, of course, I wear glasses, so that didn't help.”

Expert View

It was hard to describe Lyle's behaviour as anything other than bad manners. It was ill-advised and disrespectful to the organisers

John Hopkins

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Lyle's day had started at 7.14am with his three-ball, including Graeme Storm, from Hartlepool, and Scott Strange, the Australian, playing into the teeth of a squall that blew through Royal Birkdale.

Storm, who finished with a 76, six over par, refused to consider giving up and said: “The weather was really bad at that point and he must have decided he'd had enough. He didn't really say. You have got to get round as good as you possibly can.”

Lyle has made it known that he wanted to follow Nick Faldo as Ryder Cup captain and would put his name forward for the selection process after this year's competition at Valhalla, Kentucky, in September. However, the final decision on who is chosen is left to a committee of professional players and they would surely view Lyle's candidacy as untenable after yesterday's events.

Lyle was not alone in deciding that enough was enough. Rich Beem, the 2002 US PGA Championship winner, walked off the course after nine holes, having slipped to 12 over par.