Darcy settles for second place

RACING: Racecourse doctors in Ireland have announced they will resign on April 6th, a move which would bring racing here to a halt.

Eamonn Darcy came within one shot of a winning debut when he finished joint second in the Champions Tour MasterCard Classic in Mexico yesterday.

David Eger blitzed the course in a final round of seven under par 65 that included a birdie four at the 18th to steal the tournament from Darcy, Hale Irwin, Bruce Lietzke and Tom Jenkins. Eger finished on 12-under-par 204 after rounds of 69, 70 and 65.

Joint leader with Lietzke and Jenkins starting the day, Darcy was never more than two shots off the pace as Lietzke and then Irwin made their bids for victory at different stages in an absorbing final round.

Darcy birdied the fourth and ninth in an outward half of 34, but dropped his only shot at the 10th - which was to prove costly - in a back nine of level par 36 for a total of 11-under-par 205.

Des Smyth, after two rounds of 75, left his best to last when shooting a final round of four-under-par 68. Starting at the 10th, Smyth ran in birdies at his first three holes to go to the turn in 34 after dropping a shot at the par five 18th. Two more birdies on the inward nine at the fifth and eighth took him back in 34 for a 68 and a total of two-over-par 218.