Croquet Master Keith Wylie Dies Dec 6, 1999 LONDON (AP) _ Master croquet player Keith Wylie, who treated the gentle lawn sport as a cerebral challenge, has died. He was 54. Wylie died Nov. 1 at his home near Southampton in southwest England, a business associate said Monday, confirming newspaper reports. No cause of death was given. Wylie, a lawyer, was one of the most innovative players in croquet, always thinking several moves ahead and honing tactics. A tall, patrician figure who loved to quote in Greek and Latin, Wylie brought the game out of the quiet confines of the vicarage garden and placed it firmly in the competitive arena. He played with flair and enthusiasm, adding a distinctive pith helmet to the traditional white croquet outfit. Wylie first took up the game as an undergraduate at King’s College in Cambridge, where he studied mathematics. Within five years had won all the major British titles and several international ones. In 1966, in only his third season, he won the prestigious President’s Cup competition. In 1970 and 1971 he won the Open Championship, on both occasions beating Nigel Aspinall, his greatest rival. During the 1971 Open, he completed a maneuver called ``the sextuple peel,″ which involves knocking a ball through six consecutive hoops using another ball. It was the first time it had been accomplished in a British tournament. But in 1969, Wylie turned down the chance to try out for Britain’s national team and began to distance himself from the game. He studied law in London and later joined a legal firm in Southampton, where he settled. Wylie consolidated his reputation in the game with ``Expert Croquet Tactics,″ in 1985, a book that the American magazine ``Croquet World″ described as ``without question, the most significant croquet book published in the last 20 years.″ He is survived by his widow, Helen, and two sons.