GOLF: A final round of six under par 66 earned Ireland's Des Smyth a share of second place on his debut in the Champions Tour ACE Classic at the TwinEagles Golf Club in Florida yesterday.
Smyth shared second place with Tom Watson - three behind the winner Argentina's Vicente Fernandez.
Starting the final round in a share of 18th place, Smyth's prospects of making a challenge didn't look too bright when he dropped a shot at the par three second. But back-to-back birdies at the sixth and seventh took him to the turn in one-under 35.
It was then that Smyth struck a rich vein of form starting with a birdie at the 10th. Though the Drogheda man dropped another shot at the 12th, in a grand stand finish Smyth shot five birdies in a row from the 13th and a par at the last took him back in 31 for a final round of 66 and a total of 11-under-par 205.
Fernandez also finished in style with a final four-under-par round 68 that included birdies at the 17th and 18th for a three-round total of 202. It was the Argentinian's first seniors win since winning the 1999 Las Vegas Classic.
Gil Morgan, Tom Purtzer and Jay Overton shared third place a shot back on 206.
Meanwhile, a five-year-old boy was treated and released from hospital in San Diego on Saturday after being hit by a stray shot from tournament leader Tiger Woods during the third round of the PGA Buick Invitational.
Ryan Benirschke, the son of former American football kicker Rolf Benirschke, was hit in the back of the head by Woods's second shot on the par-five 18th.Woods later presented the boy with an autographed glove after finishing his round.
His father said his son had a large bruise but doctors examined him and proclaimed him fine. He joked that the boy might be bragging to his schoolmates if Woods went on to win the tournament, after the world number one ended up with a birdie on the 571-yard hole.
He took a drop, nearly holed his flop shot over a bunker and made a seven-foot birdie putt.
Woods, seeking his 35th career victory, ended the day with a four-under 68 to set himself up for a final-round showdown with Phil Mickelson, after vaulting past halfway leaders Marco Dawson and Brad Faxon.
