Seniors Tour:Denis O'Sullivan left The Kingdom of Bahrain Trophy, Seniors Tour Championship with a record milestone to his name after he became the first senior golfer from Ireland to surpass €1 million in earnings on the European Seniors Tour. At the final event of 2007, held at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club in England, O'Sullivan's tied 32nd that saw him earn €2,614 and with that sum, he broke the €1 million barrier to reach €1,001,671.

In doing so, the 59-year-old from Cork became only the sixth man to achieve the feat, following in the footsteps of England's Carl Mason and Tommy Horton, Australia's Noel Ratcliffe, plus England's Nick Job and Jim Rhodes.

"I have been stuttering for three years towards it and now it's finally happened, watch out next year," joked O'Sullivan, who finished 2007 in 37th spot on the Order of Merit, with earnings of €55,591.

"It's taken me 10 years to earn the first million, so if I'm to get a second I'll need to get cracking."

In his decade on the senior circuit, O'Sullivan has won six times, starting with the Senior Tournament of Champions in 2000, while his last victory came in 2005 when he captured the DGM Barbados Open.

Yet his professional golf career, which began in 1997, came about through circumstance rather than a long-held ambition.

"I didn't always intend turning professional when I became 50. I loved amateur golf, won the Irish Amateur Championship in 1985, the Strokeplay in 1990.

"I still wanted to keep playing, so I went to Tour Qualifying School not thinking I had a chance, but won my card," said the former banker. "I'm already looking forward to next year because I think I can do even better. That's a nice feeling to have when you're 59."