Eamonn Darcy came within a birdie of shooting his age in his final professional round of golf at the Costa Blanca Benidorm Senior Masters.
Miguel Angel Jimenez was denied a home victory when Paul Streeter birdied the first play-off hole to win his second Staysure Tour title of the season, while Darcy signed off his long career with a bogey-free 67.
The 66-year-old enjoyed four victories on the European Tour, with his final title coming at the age of 47 when he upstaged the likes of Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo to win the second staging of the Dubai Desert Classic in 1990 by four shots.
The Irishman also made four appearances in the Ryder Cup, and his tense win over Ben Crenshaw at the final hole in Sunday’s singles ensured Europe’s historic first win on US soil, although it was Ballesteros who officially holed the match-winning putt.
Darcy was unable to add to his 15 professional wins after ing the senior ranks, but he enjoyed a superb finale to his career and looked set to shoot his age – and better – when three straight birdies took him to the turn in five-under 31.
But the putts dried up for Darcy on the back nine and he carded nine straight pars to stay at one over for the tournament, which left him 15 strokes adrift of the two leaders.
Spaniard Jimenez, playing in his first regular-season event on the Staysure Tour, piled the pressure on Streeter as he made five birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free 65 which lifted him to 14 under par.
But Streeter was up to the challenge and was six under for his final round when he arrived on the 18th tee with a one-shot lead, although the Englishman was unable to save par as a 65 left him tied at the top with Jimenez.
However, Streeter atoned back at the same hole moments later when he knocked a sublime approach to three feet and holed out to clinch his second win of the season, having emerged victorious at the Travis Perkins Masters in September.
