Des Smyth can afford to be a little fussier in choosing his European Tour destinations this year. As the newest champion on tour, and the oldest ever winner on the regular circuit, the 48-year-old's mindset has changed from someone mainly intent on securing his playing rights for next season into a player who can use the next two years as the perfect preparation for his planned assault on the US Seniors' Tour.
"Originally, I had planned a schedule this year that was worked out with the aim of keeping my card," said Smyth, "but in one fell swoop I am out of the loop." Indeed, his win in the Madeira Island Open - the eighth of his career, and the first since the Madrid Open in 1993 - provides him with a tour exemption for two years. And, for good measure, victory also moved him back into the world's top-200 for the first time since August 1995 at number 183 in the rankings.
"This win changes everything for me. It means I'm exempt this year and next, so when I hit 50 (in February 2003) there'll be no point in hanging around on the main tour. I'll be going out onto the seniors circuit with the benefit of having played in an extremely competitive environment for another two years," he said.
Yesterday, Smyth arrived back in Dublin to be met by television cameras at the airport and a long list of well-wishers passing on their messages by phone. "Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley, Eamonn Darcy, Mark Rose, Barry Lane . . . a whole lot of guys have been on to me. To some degree, my win has given a lot of players, many of my contemporaries, great encouragement. It shows that if you can get your game right, you'll be rewarded, that your game is good enough if you believe in yourself."
Smyth is the third 40-something to win on the European Tour so far this season. Mark McNulty (47), won the South African Open in January and Tony Johnstone (44), took last week's Qatar Masters title. Smyth's win came at the end of a three-week stint on the road that took in Dubai, Qatar and finished in Madeira. "I'm not a fitness freak, but I do like to keep in shape," said Smyth, and that attitude certainly reaped dividend. "I enjoy the competition and, if after a round, I think there is something that needs work, then I'll hit the range and work on it.
"Ten days before going to Dubai, I went off the drink, worked hard and did the job as best as I could," added Smyth. "In Dubai and then Qatar, I had the bad hole here and there, but I worked on it and the sharpness was there in Madeira."
As far as the immediate future is concerned, Smyth - who had planned to reappear for the Moroccan Open in a month's time - plans to sit down over the next week or so and work out his new schedule. Further down the line, that move to the lucrative US Seniors Tour now seems more appetising than ever while, even further away, his ambition is to play some role in the 2005 Ryder Cup at The K Club.
"Being captain that year is something that I would like. I know Eamonn (Darcy) would like it, and I know Christy (O'Connor Jnr) would like it too. It might not even be an Irishman. It would be great, however, to be the first Irish captain of a Ryder Cup team. If it doesn't happen, well, I'm philosophical about life." While Smyth takes a break this week, only two Irish players - David Higgins and Philip Walton - are in action in the Brazil Open in Sao Paulo, a tournament which Padraig Harrington won last year.
Meanwhile, Christy O'Connor Jnr's tied-18th place finish in the Siebel Classic on the US Seniors' Tour at the weekend - won by Hale Irwin, establishing a new record for wins on the seniors circuit - brought his earnings so far this season from four events to $81,835. He currently lies 42nd on the money list.
