Smyth wins Wentworth Masters

Des Smyth has won the Wentworth Senior Masters over the Edinburgh Course at Wentworth.

Smith carded a final round 69 to finish on six-under-par, two shots clear of New Zealand's Bob Charles.

Overnight leader Eduardo Romero could only shoot 73 to finish in third on three-under. Smyth's win denied Romero three wins in a row in this tournament.

Speaking after his win, Smyth said: 'It's great to win again – it's what we do all the work for and I am thrilled to win again. So many great players have won it before, so to join that array of great players is very special.'

He then added: 'I’ll be going home to Drogheda and to my golf club, Beltray, to sink a few pints. Padraig doesn't drink, so he's hopeless for the drink industry, but the crowd I knock round with will make up for him tonight!'

After each of his previous rounds of 70, Smyth headed straight to the range to work on his game, such was his disquiet and lack of confidence over his performance.

Yet over the course of his final 18 holes, Smyth was the personification of belief and assuredness, as he forged ahead and looked very comfortable in pole position.

'I wasn't doing it to take the pressure off myself, he said. 'I am just embarrassingly truthful about my golf and I have not been playing well. I was struggling – I have been all year.

'You saw today in the middle of the round I wobbled a little and hit some poor irons, but my short game pulled me through – my putting in particular. It was the best of all three days today.'

Smyth paid tribute to 71-year-old Bob Charles, who beat his age with his closing 70 to finish in second place on four-under-par.

Charles came back in 32, with three consecutive birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th, to claim his best finish since 2005.

'He doesn't surprise me – I've seen him do it many time before. He had a 71 in the opening round at Muirfield in The Senior Open, so I knew he was playing well.'

Playing with Romero and Japan's Katsuyosi Tomori in the final group of the day, Smyth, after a nervy opening drive which narrowly avoided the fairway bunker, fired an iron to just off the green and produced a great up and down to settle down.

Romero, meanwhile, got off to the worse possible start when he blocked his drive on the first hole and found a gorse bush.

A five-minute search eventually yielded his ball, and a penalty drop, but after another pushed shot to short right of the green, Romero failed to get up and down and signed for a double bogey six.

Smyth's birdie putt on the 144-yard par-three second hole came up short, but as Romero bogeyed the fourth, he took charge with birdies at the third and fifth holes in his outward nine of 34 strokes.

A tremendous eagle on the ninth from Romero got him right back in the hunt, three behind Smyth.

On the 14th, Romero got up and down, while Smyth had a similar tricky four-foot putt that he too holed. The duo both had to test their short games again on the 15th, but when Romero failed to get up and down, running his chip eight feet past and missing the return, Smyth was in control.

Steady play over the closing holes saw Smyth home to the €55,753.88 first prize and a victory that he described as 'the happiest of all my great memories here at Wentworth.'

Romero had to settle for third place after his one-over-par 73 and three-under-par 213 total. England's Carl Mason was fourth place on one-under-par after closing with a 71.

Eammon Darcy, who started the day one-under-par in a tie for eighth place, went out in three-over-par 39 to fall back to two over par.

Coming home, Darcy birdied hole ten and was par in from there. He three-putted 16, missing his eagle and birdie chance, and eventually signed for a 75 and tied eighth finish.

Denis O'Sullivan shot level-par 36 on the outward nine, and repeated the score coming in for a 72 and five-over-par 221 total. Jimmy Hegarty shot 73 for a nine-over par 225 total, while Eddie Poland shot 80 for a 19-over-par 235 total.