Smyth treats two imposters the same

Interview/Des Smyth: Paul Gallagheron how vast experience and desire keep the tour veteran on an even keel as he battles to keep his US Senior Tour card

Des Smyth has been around long enough to know that golf is a fickle game and instances of players going from hero to zero in a matter of days are all too common. Recently the 54-year-old was heralded champion of Wentworth before the next outing left him struggling for any sort of game, never mind his A-game. But Smyth has 33 consecutive years competing as a top level tour player to fall back on and knows the vagaries only too well, it's what makes the roller-coaster ride such an enjoyable one.

The Drogheda native is in his fifth year competing on the Champions Tour (US Senior Tour) since announcing himself to the over-50 brigade by winning Qualifying School in November 2002. This week Smyth broke through the $4 million barrier in career earnings in the US ($4,022,792), finished 10th in the 2005 standings ($1,238,876) when he won twice, and has averaged no less than $881,643 per season up to this year.

Not a bad return in anyone's book, particularly at a time when your peers have spent a lifetime working and look forward to winding down instead of making countless trips across the Atlantic to compete. But as long as the hunger and the desire to win remains, the lucrative Indian summer will continue.

On reflection, 2007 has been Smyth's most difficult year to date; he has "struggled to get on top of his game all season". Now the Louthman must spend the remainder of the season battling to get into the top 30 (currently 37th) which guarantees his Tour card and a chance to dine at the top table for another year.

"I've never lacked confidence in my game but you definitely gain confidence from performances, simple as that. I'm not at the top of my game just now, not by a long shot. Although I drive the ball well, my iron play has been disappointing all year and that's why I've struggled. But I'm still managing my game a lot better," explains Smyth, who was able to glean confidence from competing closer to home.

As one of the best wind and links players in the game, Smyth always takes the opportunity to compete in the Senior Open Championship - a major which also counts towards the Champions Tour - held at Muirfield this year, one week after Padraig Harrington's heroics further up the Scottish east coast.

"I got my confidence back at the Senior Open where I played three good rounds. Opening with a double bogey on the Saturday was a real kick in the you-know where but I recovered and played well again on the Sunday so I knew my game was in pretty good condition," said Smyth, who tied 10th at Muirfield before going on to win the Wentworth Senior Masters the following week.

"Any win is good in professional sport, it's all about winning," explains Smyth, who shot rounds of 70, 71, 69 to top the field in Surrey.

After this successful two-week stint, plus playing his part in this wonderful period for Irish golf, Smyth returned to the US, believing his game was in good enough shape to contest the senior major, the Jeld-Wen Tradition Tournament in Oregon two weeks ago.

But if any game has the ability to come back and bite you, golf certainly has. And the harsh reality hit home when this gentleman of the fairways slumped to an opening round of 80. He recovered somewhat with rounds of 75, 75, 74 but finished the tournament a lowly 77th, while Zimbabwean-born Irishman Mark McNulty won by five shots to move himself back into the magical top 30 on the money list (23rd $613,885).

Over the space of one month a spark of form had ignited for Smyth in Scotland. He took that new-found confidence to Wentworth and won, then seemingly out of the blue, his game unravelled once more when he needed it most. When a tour player like Smyth says he's "not at the top of his game" I was curious to find out what he actually means by that and how do they cope with the pressure of being in contention.

"By that I mean not being able to shape shots the way I like and need to," he says. "At this level we are talking very fine margins, but funny enough, it all comes out when you're under pressure and it's time to play certain shots and they don't come off the way you imagined.

"As a player you know yourself how you're striking it and confidence comes from playing good rounds and good shots more or less on request.

"You've always got to try and keep calm, it's not as if we're all robots out there and don't feel the pressure," he explains. "At Wentworth I had a few shots cushion, so my game plan was to keep it tight, hit fairways and greens, don't be too aggressive and let others make the mistakes.

"There are other times when you're two or three shots behind and you've to be aggressive, push it and go for flags. If on your game and confident, the shots will come off and the putts will drop, otherwise you'll come up short. There's always a strategy, but you have to work that out and play within yourself, and that can only be done when your game is good and can trust your swing."

And what of the nerves? "Of course there are nerves, but in my case, I'm able to draw from a well of experience and the calmer you are under these circumstances the better. To win you need to have a cool head," says the veteran, who happens to be sixth on the all-time list of most events played on the European Tour with 593 since starting out in 1974. Sam Torrance leads with over 700, and Eamon Darcy is third (610).

"I can imagine there was a fair bit of turmoil in his head playing that 18th," Smyth joked when referring to Harrington's 72nd hole at Carnoustie.

"But jeez, what a pitch he played under those circumstances. It was absolutely fabulous, to get up and down like that was incredible," adds Smyth, who at times sounds like one of golf's biggest fans, rather than one of the game's shining lights for over 30 years.

"Sure I was glued to the seat watching it all unfold with Padraig and Rory (McIlroy). I never missed a shot. I had my days all worked out that week, did my practice in the morning then back home and in my seat by 1pm.

"Anything you need to know about their rounds, just let me know," he quips.

When Smyth talks golf, his enthusiasm for the game is tangible and he is one of many convinced Irish golf has never been in better shape. "It's obviously the best we have ever had it," he says. "When you think Fred Daly won the Open 60 years ago, you kind of thought 'will an Irishman ever win it again?' Irish golf is in great shape now after what Padraig achieved, and especially with the prospect of Rory coming through. I mean he's only 18, what are his possibilities? All this will feed off on to other people who have ambitions."

He also believes this wonderful success is no accident either. "For a start you've got so many clubs encouraging junior golf, then the GUI, ILGU and the Irish PGA, who are all encouraging young people to get involved through teaching programmes. The structure is very good in this country, but also the tradition, which goes way back, plays a huge part too. Practically everybody can play golf in Ireland, it's not just for those who have money, it has always been accessible and is even more so today."

Last year's European Ryder Cup vice-captain is still the oldest winner of a European Tour event when he won the 2001 Madeira Island Open aged 48 years and 34 days. Part of Smyth's longevity and competitiveness comes down to staying in great physical shape, and yet, his swing is practically self-taught, something he wouldn't recommend these days.

"I'm in a bit of an unfortunate situation in that I don't have a coach, but I'd always recommend one," he says. "I had a coach once, Danny O'Brien, but he died a long, long time ago. He was able to get me back on the rails pretty quickly. But really I've always been self-taught where I take myself to the practice ground and work it out. Now that's a pretty difficult way of doing it in this day and age, but it's something I've always done and I'm stuck with it now. Nowadays I'd always recommend a coach the way Padraig and the rest of the guys do."

Smyth has never had any problems finding a place to practice for there are any amount of quality venues along the east coast not far from his home.

And it's home where he likes to be most when not competing and that's why he'll always base himself in Ireland despite competing primarily in the US.

"The travel element is not the easiest situation with me still living in Ireland but it's the choice I made," says Smyth, who generally does three or sometimes five- or six-week tournament runs. "I wouldn't be happy living in the States, my family and friends are here, so what I effectively do is commute, do the hotel thing, play my tournaments then jump on a plane and come home."

Getting home also allows Smyth the chance to give something back to a game which he says gave him so much. For years he has been involved with the Links Golfing Society, which raises money for charities, plus he set up the Des Smyth Drogheda Youth Foundation years ago to help kids from difficult backgrounds get into all types of sport and help teach them principles and values in life.

"It's good to give something back. At my stage, the golf is not life or death stuff for me anymore," he says. But don't be fooled by this generous demeanour in competitive terms.

"The hunger is still as strong as ever, plus there's the pride thing in front of your contemporaries. The Champions Tour is a great tour and one I plan to keep playing. I still have a big job to do for the rest of the season and need some big performances from the half a dozen or so events left."

At the weekend Smyth closed with a fine 66 and climbed 18 places to tie 17th at the Boeing Classic, but he still remains 37th on the money list ($362,081). This week he will tee it up in the Walmart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, the final tournament in a three-week stretch before returning home.

It's that stage of the season, the final stretch, where every dollar becomes a prisoner and the margin between success and failure is fine. If experience and desire are necessary traits, Smyth will do just fine.

Des Smyth

Date of birth: 12/02/1953

Age: 54

Residence: Drogheda, Co Louth

Turned pro: 1974

Joined Champions Tour: 2002

2007 Champions Tour ranking: 37th - €265,000 (19 events)

European Senior Tour ranking: 6th - €118,528 (5 events)

Champions Tour wins: (2) (plus Qualifying School 2002): SBC Classic (2005), Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (2005),

European Senior Tour wins: (2) Wentworth Senior Masters (2007), Arcapita Senior Tour Championship (2005)