Smyth eyes magnificent seven at Seapoint

DES SMYTH, now 57, has already won the Ladbrokes.com Irish PGA Championship six times and quietly fancies his chances of a seventh title when the event gets underway over the Seapoint links, Termonfeckin, Co Louth this morning.

One good reason for Smyth’s optimism was his recent victory on the European Seniors Tour, a result that meant he has now won a tournament in each of the last five decades. Furthermore, he knows the course intimately, having designed it in the early 1990s along with former amateur international, Declan Branigan.

They were always optimistic that the project would be a winner, not least because it is located immediately alongside the great Baltray links and so boasted immaculate seaside turf ideal for their purpose.