Senior Open: Paul Broadhurst wins title as Miguel Angel Jimenez falters at Carnoustie

Broadhurst had won three previous senior titles, two in Europe and one in America

England's Paul Broadhurst won his first major title at the Senior Open at Carnoustie as Miguel Angel Jimenez's form collapsed in Sunday's final round.

Broadhurst, 50, who won the Scottish Senior Open last year, started four shots behind overnight leader Jimenez.

But he led the Spaniard by a shot heading down the 18th and parred it for a round of 68 as Jimenez had a double bogey which dropped him to joint-third.

American Scott McCarron surged into a one-shot lead but ended up in second.

Broadhurst, whose best Open finish is a tie for 12th in both 1990, when he shot a joint-Open record of 63 at St Andrews, and 2007 at Carnoustie, now qualifies for next year's 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

He has also secured an exemption for next year's lucrative Champions Tour, where he has already won a tournament to accompany six previous wins on the European Tour and two on the European Seniors Tour.

'We have got three years to sort my game out'

"It's incredible to be honest. I never dreamed this would ever happen," the former Ryder Cup player from Atherstone, Warwickshire, told BBC Scotland.

"It is seriously beyond my wildest dreams. It hasn't really sunk in yet."

Broadhurst's last events on the main European Tour were in 2012. He has spent the last few years playing PGA Midlands tournaments, mostly Pro-Ams.

"I had a decision to make; either stop playing and perhaps go into teaching or find a job - I was only 45-46," he explained.

"But I decided I wanted to carry on playing. I was working with Tim Rouse, the pro at Northants County Golf Club, and he has turned my game around really.

"That was my remit when we first met - 'I want to be playing well when I get to 50 - we have got three years to sort my game out'. So a massive thank-you to him. Without his help, this wouldn't have happened."

'I was not the same guy as yesterday' - Jimenez

The cigar-smoking Jimenez, 52, who finished 18th at The Open last week, had led by four shots overnight after a sparkling seven-under 65 on Saturday.

Jimenez hit a tree on the 10th, putting his ball in the water and making a double bogey

But hoping to land a first career major of any kind after 21 wins on the European Tour and three on the Champions Tour, he could only manage a three-over-par 75. Jimenez's best major finish is runner-up in the 2000 US Open.

"It looks like I was not the same guy who played yesterday," he said. "At the beginning I was not loose enough you know. I didn't have the confidence. Any time I missed a shot I got a bogey.

"You feel tense of course. It's important for you. But I didn't feel comfortable. But that's golf, that's the game. Anything that happens like this is very disappointing and this is very disappointing."

Swede Magnus P Atlevi closed with a 67 to join Jimenez in a tie for third on eight under, ahead of a quartet of Americans in Brandt Jobe and Tom Byrum (seven under), and Joe Durant and Wes Short Jr (six under).

German veteran Bernard Langer, who won the Senior Open at Carnoustie in 2010, carded a fourth successive 71 to finish on four under, seven shots back, in a tie for ninth.

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