Broadhurst's biggest career win - at the 

age of 50 going on 51


FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Paul Broadhurst produced a career-defining performance at Carnoustie today by capturing the Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex on his debut in the event.

With an immaculate sense of symmetry, the 50-year-old produced a bogey-free, four-birdie  68 over the notoriously tough Carnoustie links to bookend the 30 editions of the Senior Open with champions from England.
It was Neil Coles who lifted the veterans’ version of the Claret Jug in the inaugural edition back in 1987, and it was Broadhurst who became only the second English winner of the championship with his heroics at Carnoustie on the 30^th anniversary of the event.
Broadhurst admitted that the bravura performance was “the biggest achievement of my life” as he signed for an 11 under par total of 277 and a two-stroke winning margin over American Scott McCarron, with third-round leader Miguel Angel Jiménez sharing third place with Swede Magnus P Atlevi a further shot back.
Not surprisingly, Broadhurst acknowledged his love of golf in Scotland. On his debut as a 50-year-old last August, he claimed the Prostate Cancer UK Scottish Senior Open title – an event he plans to defend at Archerfield Links next month.
Now, at the scene of his highest Open Championship finish back in 2007, ‘Braveheart’ Broadhurst was back on top of the pile, but more importantly with a cheque for £213,040 in his back pocket and a lofty position as No.1 on the European Senior Tour Order of Merit.

Broadhurst, who won six times on the European Tour (he was Rookie of the Year in 1989)  and enjoyed a 100 per cent record from two starts in the 1991 Ryder Cup, had no doubts that victory at Carnoustie was the cherry on the icing on top of the cake.
“This is bigger than all of those wins, I think,” he reflected. “A lot, lot bigger. It’s absolutely massive. I played some of my best golf this week. I hit the ball really nicely and my iron play was really good. The hard work I’ve put in paid off."
With his 19 year old son, Sam, acting as caddie and showing wisdom beyond his years by keeping his dad calm under pressure, Broadhurst converted a four-shot overnight deficit into that two-stroke winning margin over the legends of the senior game.
As 2010 Carnoustie winner, Bernhard Langer, and three-time champion, Tom Watson, finished down the field, Broadhurst knew he had his work cut out to find a way to beat McCarron and the confirmed front-runner, Jiménez.
It appeared that the coronation of ‘King Miguel’ was inevitable after the Spaniard’s third round 65, but this was not the best day for the "Mechanic" from Malaga.
While Broadhurst calmly picked off par after par on the front nine, it was Jiménez who displayed uncharacteristic nerves, bogeying the ninth and double-bogeying the tenth after visiting the greenside burn.
Suddenly, the picture had changed with McCarron picking up five shots in the first 12 holes to sweep into the lead. Atlevi, who had nine birdies in his first 14 holes, was also in the mix.  
However, he and McCarron both suffered at the hands of Carnoustie’s gruelling finish. Bogeys at the 16^th and 18^th put paid to their chances.
Then it was down to the last pair out on the golf course. Broadhurst kept his nerve at the 17^th and 18^th by getting up and down from bunkers to clinch that first Major in dramatic fashion. Even Jiménez appeared to succumb to the pressure as he made a double bogey when he thinned his approach shot  at the 18^th for a round of 75, missing out on the runner-up spot.
The Spaniard accepted his fate with good grace and said: “Today was the other side of the coin from yesterday. I was a little bit tense – not loose at the beginning of the round – and then I didn’t play as well as yesterday.
As the Broadhurst family – wife Lorraine and sons Sam and Aaron – prepared for the drive back to the Midlands of England, the new champion, who will be 51 next month, was able to reflect on his new status as a Major Champion in senior golf.
“I’m not really aware how big this is yet,” he said. “It’s beyond my wildest dreams. This sort of thing doesn’t happen to players like me normally. I feel very privileged to have won this event. Now I plan to defend my Scottish Senior Open title back here in Scotland and whatever happens I won’t desert Europe.
" I want to play a schedule which will take in America and Europe. It’s my home and I want to support the events here.”
Three-time winner Watson closed with a 71 to win the Fred Daly Trophy for the highest finish among the over-60s and promised to be back next year. 
Tom said: “I love Royal Porthcawl and look forward to returning there in 2017 and St Andrews the following year.”

SCROLL DOWN FOR ANOTHER REPORT ON BROADHURST'S WIN ... A PICTURE OF HIM WITH THE SENIORS' CLARET JUG ... AND THE LEADING FINAL TOTALS PLUS PRIZE MONEY.