Hard road gets easier for old dogs

Des Smyth, walking with just the slightest hint of a hobble, couldn't wait to get his golf shoes off. "I've a corn on my little toe and it has been killing me all the way around the course," he said, opening the boot of his car to rescue his day shoes.

Instead of a look of pained angst, however, one of the oldest swingers in Ballybunion had a huge smile on his face as he cherished a tied-sixth placed finish that helped make a significant dent in his stated aim of retaining his tour card.

"I'm delighted with the way I played," said Smyth. "I hit so few bad shots - but I was punished so badly whenever I did. However, I've spent half a year trying to make 25 grand and now I've doubled that in one fell swoop. I'm thrilled with the result."

In fact, the 47-year-old earned £28,100 sterling to bring his earnings for the season to £54,808 and move him to 92nd place in the money list.

Elsewhere, Philip Walton battled some of the demons out of his system by overcoming a start that saw him lose three shots in the first four holes before recovering to a closing round 72 for seven-under-par 277, sufficient to give him a tied 10th finish (remarkably, with nine other players) which quadrupled his year's biggest pay-day and jumped him from 229th in the Order of Merit up to 155th.

All in all, it added up to one of the best performances by the home contingent in recent times: three players in the top-10, and Paul McGinley - in tied-third - finishing as the top Irishman in the tournament for the third time in the past decade.

But Paddy Gribben's lack of regular tournament play caught up on him. Like Walton, playing on a sponsor's invitation, he floundered to a final round 78, which meant he plunged down the field from a starting position of tied-10th all the way to tied-45th.

Although disappointed, he managed to retain a sense of humour: "We might be able to buy a pram," he quipped, pointing to his wife, Anne, who is almost five months pregnant.

"I was never in this position before as a professional, so hopefully I can walk away and learn from it," added Gribben.

Smyth, though, used all his experience to carve out one of his most pleasing results of recent reasons. It was a day when Smyth refused to buckle under pressure, a day that he played almost robotic golf on the front nine when he reeled off nine straight pars. "I played absolutely beautifully for those holes," he conceded.

Given his pre-tournament form - which had seen him miss eight cuts in 12 outings, with a best finish of tied-22nd in the French Open - could he credit where his form had come from? A shrug and a smile, accompanied by the answer.

"I always go out expecting to play well. If you lose your way, you go back to the practice ground and work on it. But I felt good coming into this week. I was in a nice mode," he said.

And, while many locals bemoaned the way the course was set-up, even going as far as to intimate that the course record 63s set during the week shouldn't be allowed to stand, Smyth felt the tournament directors had got it right.

"If the wind had blown, I fear what might have happened. The rough was horrendous and there were places that you can barely see the ball, where you can't move it. That's not a penalty, that's unplayable, and I'm delighted for the players who had the opportunity to play the course this way."

Walton, meanwhile, was happy that things finally seem to be slotting back into place. His top-10 finish would have earned him a place into this week's European Open at the K Club - ironically, Walton, who doesn't have a tour card, had already received a sponsor's invitation - but the mood of the week seemed to invigorate him.

"I've enjoyed the week overall," he said. "I missed a couple of short putts today which spoiled things a little, but I feel that I've got more confidence back. "I went out to try to break par but, unfortunately, that didn't happen. However, my game is more promising and I'm really looking forward to a good week at the K Club," said Walton.

Darren Clarke's tournament never ignited. After surviving for the weekend on the cut mark, he nevertheless managed to manoeuvre his way into a finishing position of 32nd place.

"I played very average and scored very average," was his honest assessment.