Smyth proves life can begin at 50
Smyth’s campaign isn’t quite at an end for he intends to play in the European Seniors Tour Championship in Bahrain next week but essentially it is time for him to put his feet up back home in Baltray, Co Louth and reflect on how exciting life has become since he passed the 50 mark a couple of years ago.
At the end of 2003, he played himself onto the lucrative Champions Tour but didn’t match his own high standard, amassing no more than $536,000 from 27 events. Second time round, though, it’s been a different story as already this year he captured the first prize of $232,500 in the SBC Classic in March and $382,000 for winning the Liberty Mutual Legends title in April.
Things quietened down after that although he was unlucky to lose out to Tom Watson in a play-off for the British Seniors Open at Royal Aberdeen in July.
Nevertheless, that earned him another $182,913 on the money list and the following week he maintained the momentum by coming 9th in the US Seniors Open. His season concluded with 13th in last week’s Charles Schwab Cup in California and even though he picked up another $53,750, still dropped him back from 8th to 10th in the final order of merit rankings.
Still, he totalled more than twice his 2004 money in spite of playing six tournaments less, its own indication of just how much his game improved in twelve months.
“Yeah, it was a good year to be sure”, he told me last night having just alighted from the trans-atlantic flight along with his wife Vikki: “I was especially pleased at how things went early on in the year but I was disappointed at what happened from July onwards. I’m not sure why I lost my consistency; it could be that the incentive wasn’t so great after winning the two tournaments and making sure of a top thirty finish in the money list. But it’s essential to play your best all the time because if you don’t finish in the top 30, then you’re back to the qualifying school.”
Over the years, some Europeans have found it difficult to settle on the seniors circuit in the US with a few hinting that the welcome isn’t always the warmest. However, Smyth is a man nobody could dislike. “I feel very comfortable and confident over there and get on with almost all the guys. The courses are superb and the weather is usually favourable and the standard of competition really high. Dana Quigley led the order of merit with $2.1 million dollars with Hale Irwin in second place.”
It will be a relatively short close season for Smyth who is planning to contest the Mastercard Championship and the Turtle Bay tournament in Hawaii in January and while he admits that will make for a very long year, he says he is “determined to play as well as possible and will be working out throughout the winter. The Mastercard is for players who have won tournaments in each of the last two years so that should be exciting.”
Otherwise, he hopes to play a similar schedule on the Champions Tour to this year although it’s doubtful that will be possible given his role as one of Ian Woosnam’s Ryder Cup vice captains. He says he “hasn’t been given any riding instructions yet by Woosnam. We had a chat at the recent ‘Year To Go’ function and we’ll be building up to it throughout the new year. I haven’t planned on playing any tournaments on the European Tour and can’t see any need to do so.
“I’ve been watching all the tournaments on the Golf Channel while in the States and know all the players with the exception of Luke Donald and that shouldn’t cause too many problems.”
Smyth’s role at The K-Club is certain to create tremendous excitement among the fans while he is thrilled Paul McGinley has nearly already played himself into the side.
“I’m thrilled for Paul the way he won the Volvo Masters and delighted to say so”, he enthused. “It’s a fantastic thing that we had three players and a quarter of the team in 2004, this time it could be four and a third of the side.
“Paul is there already and I have no doubt Padraig [Harrington] and Darren [Clarke] will also make it. As for Graeme McDowell, he’s a very determined golfer and I also fancy his chances. From my travels over there, I know how determined the Americans are to regain the trophy. They don’t change. The President’s Cup result has really boosted their confidence and has bedded down two of their fourball/foursomes combinations, Mickelson and DiMarco and Tiger and Furyk.
“You have to realise how big golf is in the States. They have the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour, the Nationwide Tour and the LPGA Tour as well as the collegiate stuff and it’s all live on television. And while they gee up the President’s Cup, the Ryder Cup is the pinnacle, it’s what they really want.”
So there’s lots to look back on and much to look forward to for Smyth. Astonishingly, it could have been a different story had he not paid a chance visit to a doctor in San Antonio a couple of weeks ago, who discovered a blocked artery to his heart. Immediate action was essential as the doctor explained: “You were a-symptomatic, no symptoms at all, no lack of breath, no pain, one of a small group of people. You’d just have dropped dead, sooner rather than later.”
He had never been sick a day in his life and couldn’t believe what was happening but already it’s a thing of the past! “I’m a lucky man I had that scan”, he observed.
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