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After the high stakes and heartache of Turnberry, what better than a gentle stroll around Sunningdale with the old guard to soothe the senses?

Seniors golf should make for ice cream television. After all, it's not like these old-timers have anything to prove and they certainly don't need the prize money.

The likes of Sandy Lyle, Sam Torrance and Craig 'The Walrus' Stadler are simply filling idle time.

Life on the Champions Tour is comfortable to say the least and who in their right mind would turn down luxuriant accommodation, free food and free cars in exchange for a few swipes in the sunshine? Now that's the life.

With this in mind, Sunday's conclusion to the Senior Open Championship promised an indulgent treat.

This was Major tournament golf, minus the intensity. Nobody would get hurt and we could all have a jolly good time finding out who would lift the seniors Claret Jug which presumably is thermally lined to hold Ovaltine.

Thankfully, Tom Watson's challenge fell away. Watching the great man lose back-to-back Opens would have been too much to bear.

But all thoughts of easy viewing were quickly forgotten when Greg Norman double-bogeyed the 17th and saw his challenge implode in typically 'Norman-esque' fashion.

Suddenly it didn't matter that the Great White Shark was up against a field of 50-somethings with not a care in the world.

This was tournament golf. And it left us Norman sympathisers with that sinking feeling we know only too well.

"You know he led all four Majors in 1996 and didn't win any of them," said the commentator.

Yes we did know that, thank you very much. But this was supposed to be pain-free viewing, not a walk down bad memory lane.

The play-off wasn't any easier to stomach. After Fred Funk fell, it was left to Mark McNulty to play the Watson role and capitulate in spectacular fashion.

McNulty's disaster allowed the rather smug-looking Roberts to cruise to victory and left a rather bitter taste in the mouth.

What it also did was prove that seniors golf is far more than a busman's holiday. Their drives might be longer and the waistlines bigger, but these old-timers still have the fire in their bellies. And that's enough to warrant our emotional investment.

So don't expect a gentile ride this weekend at the US Senior Open.

Will Tidey / Eurosport