Golf: Smyth becomes Tour's oldest winner

Des Smyth is celebrating reaching a number of remarkable milestones with his victory in the Madeira Island Open.

Smyth carded a final-round 66 for an 18-under-par total of 270 at Santo da Serra and a two-stroke victory over England's John Bickerton.

In doing so, Smyth became the oldest winner on the European Tour, at 48 years and 34 days.

It also meant he has now won a tournament in each of the last four decades, his first coming in 1979 and the last in the Madrid Open in 1993.

Smyth pocketed the winner's cheque for £58,000 with Bickerton claiming £38,789 as runner-up.

Four players - Wales' Stephen Dodd, Italians Massimo Florioli and Massimo Scarpa and defending champion Niclas Fasth - shared third place on 14 under par, four strokes behind the winner. England's David Lynn and Sweden's Pehr Magnebrant were a further shot back.

"I'm absolutely ecstatic," Smyth said. "I was almost afraid to think of winning, although I knew I had a chance.

"I've won seven times previously and played Ryder Cup twice, but when you haven't won for so long it is like this elusive dream. You really want it but if you focus on it too much you don't play well because it distracts you.

"The game plan was to go out and fire from the start but I three-putted the first so that was a big setback.

"The turning point for me was the seventh hole. I pulled my drive into the trees and had very little chance of getting out.

"There were trees all around me and I took a huge gamble going through a gap over my head, I whacked a wedge back on to the fairway and then hit a seven iron to four feet and holed the putt for birdie. That's where things changed."

Another birdie followed at the 10th before what Smyth described as his "shot of the day", a four iron to within inches of the hole for an eagle on the 11th.

Another good putt was required to salvage a bogey five on the 13th, which left him in a three-way tie for the lead before a hat-trick of birdies from the 14th effectively sealed a fine victory.

"I'm over the moon," added Smyth, who spoke after his opening 66 of simply keeping his game in shape for the lucrative US Seniors Tour when he turns 50. "It won't sink in and it will take me a week to figure this out."