EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR

Longmuir falls away as Smyth takes

title at Woburn


BY RODDY WILLIAMS
European Tour website editor
Anglo-Scot Bill Longmuir’s hopes of a ninth Senior Tour victory fell apart on the final day as Ireland’s Des Smyth captured the Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters at Woburn.
Longmuir's  title challenge started well with two birdies to close the gap on the leader, Carl Mason of England, to one stroke but then he tumbled down the leaderboard as he dropped nine shots in the last 14 holes to fall back to a share of 17th with fellow Scot Sam Torrance, leaving Andrew Oldcorn as the leading Scot in seventh place.
That left the stage clear for Mason and Smyth to fight for the title and it was Ireland’s Des Smyth who came out on top as he won for a fifth successive decade and denied Mason a record 24th Senior Tour victory.
The Irishman carded a three under par 69 on a blustery Sunday at Woburn to win for the first time in three years , while overnight leader Mason faltered on the back nine, coming home in 40 to card two over par.
The Englishman looked odds-on to enter the record books through nine holes as he extended his lead to three, but a disastrous four-putt double-bogey on the par five 14th to Smyth’s birdie turned things on their head and saw him trail by two.
Smyth took advantage and although he bogeyed sixteen to set up a tense finish, he rubber stamped his victory on the 18th with an emphatic closing birdie that left him feeling like Seve Ballesteros.
He said: “I felt like Seve today as he was the best at making it happen and it was one of those rounds where it did happen today. I putted much better this week having changed my putting style slightly and I could see the lines much better and that gave me the confidence to hit the putts.
“It was fantastic to win in front of these crowds and it is my fifth decade of winning, from the 70s to now and that was a goal of mine. I am really pleased to have got that.”
Smyth won his first professional title in 1979 when he won the Sun Alliance Match Play Championship, winning every decade since and still holds the record as the oldest winner on The European Tour.
Mason will hope that there will be plenty more opportunities to break the record he holds with Tommy Horton after a final round that never really got going.
He said: “Four putts on the 14th was not good. That made me unsteady on the greens unfortunately. I had some good chances out there, a couple of horseshoes but pleased with the way I played. It is a tough course and under pressure it is real tough, doesn’t get any tougher.
“Des got a couple of nice breaks and made some nice saves and I can’t complain. Normally, putting my best I would have been way ahead but just wasn’t one of those days. You can’t win them all.”
In a share of third place with Argentine Adan Sowa, was England’s Gary Wolstenholme on his Senior Tour debut who picked up the biggest check of his life having been a career amateur for so many years.
“I’m delighted to have done so well this week,” said England’s most capped amateur, now a professional. “My goal at the start was to finish top ten so I could get into Casa Serena in two weeks, and I’ve done that.”
It was a tough day for the other big names on the leaderboard, with particularly disappointing rounds from David J Russell (76), Bill Longmuir (79) and Ian Woosnam (75).
The popular Welshman gave his many followers little to cheer about in the final round with three doubles alongside three bogeys – although the biggest cheer of the day may have come when he pulled his driver out on 18 to have a pop at the green and close with a birdie three.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
206 D Smyth (Irl) 66 71 69
209 C Mason 66 69 74
210 G Wolstenholme 68 72 70, A Sowa (Arg) 70 72 68
212 J Quiros (Spa) 71 70 71, M Farry (Fra) 72 71 69
214 B Ruangkit (Tha) 72 69 73, C Williams (Rsa) 72 71 71, D Russell 72 66 76, A Oldcorn (Sco) 69 71 74, B Lincoln (Rsa) 71 70 73, J Bruner (USA) 73 68 73
215 P Fowler (Aus) 71 70 74, I Woosnam (Wal) 68 72 75, B Lane 71 72 72, R Chapman 67 76 72
216 S Torrance (Sco) 73 72 71, L Carbonetti (Arg) 73 70 73, P Mitchell 74 72 70, D Merriman (Aus) 72 72 72
217 B Longmuir (Sco) 69 69 79
218 T Johnstone (Zim) 72 68 78, N Job 76 72 70
219 S Owen (Nzl) 71 72 76, G Cali (Ita) 72 71 76, D Durnian 70 73 76, M Belsham 72 71 76
220 A Fernandez (Chi) 75 71 74, J Rivero (Spa) 71 78 71, J Harrison 74 70 76, J Heggarty (NIrl) 71 71 78, B Cameron 71 75 74, J Gould 73 74 73
221 J Chillas (Sco) 79 72 70, K Spurgeon 74 69 78, M Cunning (USA) 71 73 77
222 G Brand Jnr (Sco) 72 76 74
223 D Cambridge (Jam) 73 72 78, J Canizares (Spa) 74 72 77, T Charnley 73 73 77, M Harwood (Aus) 73 75 75
224 R Drummond (Sco) 74 75 75, F Mann (Sco) 76 71 77, M Gray (Sco) 74 77 73, M Poxon 74 74 76, G Banister (Aus) 73 76 75, D O'Sullivan (Irl) 72 70 82, D Hospital (Spa) 76 74 74, T Giedeon (Ger) 76 75 73, G Ryall 75 73 76
225 M Bembridge 79 68 78, A Murray 73 75 77, S Cipa 74 77 74
226 J Hall 72 73 81, J Hoskison 76 77 73
227 P Oakley (USA) 74 73 80, M Clayton (Aus) 77 77 73, V Garcia (Spa) 78 75 74
228 P Barber 74 76 78, E Darcy (Irl) 72 75 81, D Johnson (USA) 81 74 73, H Carbonetti (Arg) 72 77 79, I Mosey 74 77 77, B Smit (Rsa) 72 74 82, G Ralph 77 81 70
229 E Rodriguez (Spa) 74 73 82
230 N Ratcliffe (Aus) 76 77 77, M Williams (Zim) 80 74 76
231 M Pinero (Spa) 78 73 80, S Bennett 76 78 77, J Rhodes 79 77 75
232 M Miller (Sco) 75 81 76
234 G Brand 79 76 79
235 E Polland (NIrl) 79 78 78
237 A Garrido (Spa) 80 76 81
238 A Johnsson (Swe) 81 80 77
239 T Burgoyne (Sco) 79 79 81