Legendary Shropshire golfer Sandy Lyle is back in the winner’s circle – after a 19-year absence.

The twice Major champion, who was born in Shrewsbury and spent much of his early career playing at Hawkstone Park, rolled back the years to capture the inaugural ISPS Handa Senior World Championship in Mission Hills, China.

Lyle had been without a victory since winning the last of his 18 European Tour titles in the 1992 Volvo Masters.

But the 53-year-old brought that barren run to a end with a flawless final round 70 to finish on a three-round 12 under-par total of 204, three strokes clear of Australian Peter Fowler.

“You wonder after about four or five years whether you’ll ever win again let alone nearly 20, so this is very special,” said Lyle, who shot rounds of 68 and 66 over the first two days.

“I joined the Senior Tour and it didn’t happen as quickly as I expected it to so you do have doubts.

“My trophy cabinet has been gathering dust over the years so I feel relieved to get a win. This answers a lot of questions I had about myself.”

The 1985 Open champion, who won the Masters three years later, extended his advantage at the top of the European Seniors Tour order of merit to more than 50,000 euros.

Lyle’s victory was part of a strong Shropshire showing in China with Oswestry’s Ian Woosnam finishing in a share of eighth place after rounds of 73, 68 and 71.