Desmond John Smyth (born 12 February 1953) is an Irish

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. He won eight times on the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

between 1979 and 2001. He also had a successful senior career winning twice on the Champions Tour and five times on the

European Senior Tour The Legends Tour is the current branding of the European Senior Tour, a professional tour for male golfers aged 50 and over, run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was branded as the Staysure Tour for the 2018 and 2019 seasons after UK-based insu ...

between 2005 and 2012. He played in two

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

matches, 1979 and 1981.

Professional career

Smyth turned professional in 1974 and was a member of the

for over a quarter of a century. His best finish on the European Tour Order of Merit was seventh in 1988. He won eight tournaments on the tour across four different decades, breaking

Neil Coles Neil Chapman Coles, MBE (born 26 September 1934) is an English professional golfer. Coles had a successful career in European golf, winning 29 important tournaments between 1956 and 1982. After reaching 50, he won a further 14 important Seniors ...

' record as the oldest man to win a European Tour event when he claimed the 2001

Madeira Island Open The Madeira Islands Open was a men's professional golf tournament on the European Tour played from 1993 to 2015 on Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal. History The tournament had one of the smallest prize funds on the tour (€600,000 in 20 ...

at the age of 48 years and 34 days. This record was broken by

Miguel Ángel Jiménez Miguel Ángel Jiménez Rodríguez (born 5 January 1964) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has won 21 times on the European Tour and has been a member of two victorious Ryder Cup teams. Early years Born in Málaga in southern Spain, Jiménez ...

(48 years, 11 months, 13 days) at the 2012

UBS Hong Kong Open UBS Group AG is a multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres as the largest ...

. Smyth represented Europe in the

in 1979 and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, losing on both occasions to the United States. Smyth also represented his country in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

and the

Alfred Dunhill Cup The Alfred Dunhill Cup was a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000, sponsored by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. It was for three-man teams of professional golfers, one team representing each country, and was promoted as the "World Team Championshi ...

many times and was a member of the Irish team (alongside

Eamonn Darcy Eamonn Christopher Darcy (born 7 August 1952) is an Irish professional golfer. He won four times on the European Tour and played in the Ryder Cup four times. Professional career Darcy, with a handicap of 12, turned professional at the age of ...

and

Ronan Rafferty Ronan Patrick Rafferty (born 13 January 1964) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who formerly played on the European Tour. He was the leading European player of 1989. Early life Rafferty was born in Newry, Northern Ireland. He won the B ...

) which won the latter in 1988. At the 2006 Ryder Cup, he was one of

Ian Woosnam Ian Harold Woosnam (born 2 March 1958) is a Welsh professional golfer. Nicknamed 'Woosie', Woosnam was one of the "Big Five" generation of European golfers, all born within 12 months of one another, all of whom have won majors, and made Europ ...

's vice-captains. After turning fifty in 2003, Smyth had a successful career in senior golf, winning tournaments on both the Champions Tour and the

. Smyth is the only golfer to win European Tour events in 4 different decades.

Personal life

Smyth has a son, Greg, a horticultural student at IT

Blanchardstown Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchardstown is the largest u ...

. Greg won Ireland's eighth largest

lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...

jackpot of €9,426,636 on 13 August 2008.

Amateur wins

*1973 West of Ireland Amateur Open Championship

Professional wins (26)

European Tour wins (8)

European Tour playoff record (2–3)

Other wins (9)

*1979 Irish National PGA Championship *1980 Irish Dunlop Tournament, Carroll's Irish Match Play Championship *1985 Irish National PGA Championship *1986 Irish National PGA Championship *1990 Irish National PGA Championship *1995 Glen Dimplex Irish Match Play *1996 Irish National PGA Championship *2001 Irish National PGA Championship

Champions Tour wins (2)

Champions Tour playoff record (0–1)

European Senior Tour wins (5)

European Senior Tour playoff record (0–2)

Other senior wins (2)

*2011

Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf The Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar is a golf tournament in Missouri on the PGA Tour Champions. Since 2014, it has been played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the 18- ...

– Raphael Division (with Mark James) *2012

– Raphael Division (with Mark James)

Results in major championships

''Note: Smyth only played in The Open Championship.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1977, 1980 and 1985 Open Championships)
DQ = Disqualified
"T" = tied

Team appearances

Amateur *

European Amateur Team Championship The European Amateur Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for men organised by the European Golf Association which was introduced in 1959. The championship was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has been ...

(representing Ireland): 1973 Professional *

(representing Europe): 1979, 1981 *

(representing Ireland): 1979, 1980,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, 1989 *

Hennessy Cognac Cup The Hennessy Cognac Cup was a biennial team golf tournament contested from 1976 to 1984. The contests in 1976, 1978 and 1980 were between teams of professional male golfers; one team representing Great Britain and Ireland, the other team representi ...

(representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1980 (winners), 1982 (winners), (representing Ireland) 1984 *

(representing Ireland):

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

(winners),

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

UBS Cup The UBS Cup was a team golf tournament contested by the United States and a team representing the "Rest of the World" which ran from 2001 to 2004. In 2001 and 2002 it was called the UBS Warburg Cup. Six golfers on each side had to be 50 or over, and ...

(representing the Rest of the World): 2001, 2003 (tie)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Des Irish male golfers European Tour golfers European Senior Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe RTÉ Sports Person of the Year winners People from Drogheda 1953 births Living people