He began playing at a young age at the Weston Golf and Country Club in Toronto, where his father, a low-handicap player, had a membership.
Sye was a member of the Canadian team which won the Eisenhower Trophy in Venezuela in 1986, along with Brent Franklin, Mark Brewer, and Jack Kay Jr.[1] Sye has won the Canadian Amateur Championship twice, in 1990 at his home course, Weston Golf Club, and in 1994 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
Sye finished as runner-up in the 1998 U.S. Mid-Amateur, held at NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio, losing in the match play final to John "Spider" Miller.
Sye broke the longstanding course record at the Hamilton club with a round of 62, smashing the previous mark of 64, which had been first set in 1930 by Tommy Armour, and then tied in 1977 by Jim Nelford.
This record has since been set at 60 by Brandt Snedeker in the second round at the 2019 Canadian Open, hosted at the Hamilton club.