For a good chunk of this final day here in soggy St Andrews, the Auld Grey Toun was enveloped in a cauld grey monsoon.

By the early evening, though, those sodden clouds had given way to plumes of cigar reek as Miguel Angel Jimenez celebrated his Senior Open triumph with his traditional puff amid the pomp.

You could just about hear a bottle of his favourite Rioja being uncorked too. There were no prizes for guessing what celebratory libation would be getting plonked into the little Claret Jug he was presented with.

A closing three-under 69 over the Old Course for a 12-under 276 gave the 54-year-old a slender, one stroke victory over Bernhard Langer as the Spaniard won his second over-50s major of the season following his victory in the Regions Tradition back in May.

Having watched his great idol, Seve Ballesteros, win the Open over the Old Course in 1984, this was another case of Spanish Ayes on Scottish soil as Jimenez carted off the over-50s equivalent.

Langer finished joint second behind Seve 34 years ago and the German gentleman was waiting by the side of the 18th green to congratulate another Spaniard as Jimenez comfortably two-putted for victory on the last.

“Walking down the 18th fairway, I had one thing on my mind and that was to put the ball in the middle of the green and take the two-putts,” said Jimenez. “It’s amazing. Seve won here in 1984 and it’s nice to put my name alongside those who have won here in the home of golf.”

Jimenez had fashioned a two shot lead for himself heading into the closing day but there were a few lurking on a tight leaderboard. It wasn’t quite the jam-packed scene of Carnoustie in the Open a week ago but plenty still harboured ambitions of illuminating a dreich day with a silver lining.

While Jimenez swiftly fortified his position at the top with a birdie on the first, Langer, who was trailing by two with 18 holes to play, mounted an early offensive and picked up four birdies on his opening six holes to signal his intent.

The push for an 11th senior major was well and truly on but, having found his range with the putter, the 60-year-old missed a short one for another birdie on the seventh. “That kind of shocked me a little bit because I was putting great up until that point,” conceded Langer of that momentum stopper.

Elsewhere at the sharp end of affairs, Kirk Triplett, who calls himself the real captain Kirk on his social media page, was attempting to boldly go into the final frontier of winning a maiden major in the senior ranks.

He got going like the Starship Enterprise after an oil change and he was right in the merry midst of it having covered his first 10 holes in five-under.

Jimenez, meanwhile, was performing the role of frontrunner admirably and a three-under outward half kept him at the front.

When Triplett stumbled to bogeys at the 12th and 13th and Langer leaked one at 13 with a damaging three-putt, Jimenez’s birdie on the 12th had the Malaga veteran three shots clear.

No lead is ever safe on the run-in, though, and the advantage was slashed back to one when Jimenez spilled his first shot of the day with a three-jab on the 15th not long after Langer, playing in the group ahead, made a vital gain of his own.

Langer tried to apply more pressure but couldn’t muster another birdie on the last two hole while a fine up-and-down to save par on the treacherous 17th allowed Jimenez to play it safe up the 18th.

“I was feeling a little bit more tense but I kept breathing and stayed focused and that was the main thing,” said Jimenez of a nervy closing stretch. “I played the back nine into the wind very well all week and that was one of the keys to this success.”

With Langer signing off with a 68 to grab second on his own, Triplett shared third with Scott McCarron and Stephen Ames.

Tom Watson, who was just three off the lead with a round to play, struggled to a 77 and slithered out of the running. At 68, though, it was a hearty effort from the three-time Senior Open champion.

“There may be a little left in the tank yet,” said Watson with a defiant grin. “I caught a few fairway bunkers and when you do that, the Old Course will knock you flat on your face.”

Colin Montgomerie finished two strokes better off than Watson on 285 after a frustrating 74.

“I was expecting better,” said the 55-year-old, who has three senior majors to his name. “I didn’t hole enough putts and I’ve skimmed the hole all week. It seemed to be tap-in, after tap-in.”

The Senior Open’s first ever visit to the Old Course inevitably proved a big hit with all and sundry.

“They should have it here every bloody year,” declared Monty before marching off.